By Jacob Norling
November 21, 2025
 
(MONMOUTH, Ore.) Westmont Men's Basketball (1-2) is on the board after the Warriors defeated the Simon Fraser Red Leafs 83-64 on Friday night in Monmouth. The individual story of the night was junior Aidan Mandel, who dropped 30 points on 12 of 17 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds. On a night where Westmont both made, and had to fight off, extended runs, it was Mandel who always seemed to prolong a run in Westmont's favor, or cut off a run by the Red Leafs.
 
"Aidan was fantastic from the jump," said Westmont head coach Justin Leslie. "Thirty and 13, that's impressive. He looked like a guy who was ready for the moment. He has been working hard all offseason and all preseason and he has been building towards a night like this.
 
"This team tonight, they were playing a seven-footer and six-ten big man. We talked about using whoever they were guarding, which tonight happened to be Aidan, as a place to move the ball around or as a place to always look to. Aidan did not blink at the opportunity and he was ready for the moment."
 
Leslie continued, "As impressive as the 30 points were, I was more impressed with the 30 rebounds."
 
Not yet 10 minutes had passed (11:40) when a three-ball from Trey Thompson sent the game into a media timeout with Westmont already leading 30-9. The lead grew to 23 points minutes later, when a floater from Mandel landed to make it 33-10. Mandel connected again one possession later, this time from beyond the arc to make it 36-14 with 8:45 to play in the first.
 
With 4:45 on the clock, Chase Collins was the next to bury a three, making it a 24-point deficit for the Red Leafs (46-22). A dry spell from Westmont, however, coincided with some hot shooting for SGU, allowing the Red Leafs a 10-0 run as the half entered its final two minutes (46-32). Thirty seconds after that, things got even more dicey, when another three-pointer from SFU made it a 13-point run to bring the club back within 11 (46-35). One more stop from SFU followed by another basket made it a 15-0 run, with the Red Leafs suddenly trimming the deficit to single digits as the game entered its intermission.
 
"When they went on that run, we were dictating the game," explained Leslie. "There were a lot of situations we found ourselves in where we were making a bad angle on the perimeter that created a drive opportunity for them. If we were solid, they would have been passing around the perimeter and not able to penetrate the heart of our defense.
 
"During that run they made six points at the rim, and went one of two at the line. Then they also scored two three's in that time where we had someone guarding the ball—and we just left the ball. Out of thin air, we created an open shot for them."
 
Things did not get much better immediately into the second, when a three rattled around and down to make it an 18-0 run across both halves. At that point, it was a two-possession contest (46-40), before a Westmont layup finally ended the one-sided run. Just before the second half's first media timeout, a three-ball from Logan Huston sent the Warriors into a huddle feeling like they had their footing once more with a 12-point lead (55-43). SFU would answer with three more themselves moments later, only for Chase Collins to get the triple right back with 13:30 remaining in regulation (62-50). 
 
SFU refused to go away quietly, trading points with Westmont before beginning to chip away once again. With 10:30 remaining, a layup from the Red Leafs made it an eight-point game at 64-56. Mandel then took over the scoring for a moment, with a second-chance layup followed by a three-pointer putting Westmont back up 13 in a blink (69-56). A pair of missed free throws for SFU took the wind out of their sails a bit heading into the games penultimate media timeout, with Westmont still leading by a baker's dozen (69-56).
 
"It was completely in our control for a lot of the second half," said Leslie. "When we were solid, and not making those mistakes, we had everything that we needed on the defensive side of the ball. When there was that one stretch where they scored and we didn't, we panicked just a bit on the offensive end.
 
"We had to get back to basics, which we did, and that's just something this team has to go through to learn. We are going to have stretches where we are hot, and there's also times where your good shooting makes up for some of our deficiencies defensively. Then, when you start missing those shots, those mistakes or deficiencies come to the forefront more. Going through both sides of that is just part of the maturing process that this team has to go through."
 
Mandel began to put the finishing touches on his masterpiece with 5:30 remaining, this time with an underhand finish at the basket to make it a 16-point deficit (74-58). Next, Jarrett Bryant connected on what felt like an early dagger, with another Westmont make from long range putting the Warriors up 19 at 77-58 (4:02). To cap off his early-season signature game, Mandel threw down a dunk with an even two minutes remaining, making it a 20-point game as Westmont neared the finish line (81-61). The inevitable result became official minutes later, with Westmont's first victory going final by a score of 83-64 over Simon Fraser.
 
"The 14 offensive rebounds and only eight turnovers is something that stands out for me," offered Leslie. "That was something we worked really hard on this week. The possession battle was something that in our last two games, we hadn't done a great job at. It was something that needed to be addressed, so to see that translate immediately into Friday night's game was very encouraging."
 
Speaking more on Mandel's night, Leslie reflected and said, "I was just so happy for him. The kid has worked his tail off. He is willing to be coached, and whatever we have for him, he is open to it. I think I'm so happy for him because he took a leap of faith with me, and to see it pan out this way on a night like this was pretty cool."
 
Mandel and the Warriors are back at it on Saturday night at 8:15 p.m., when they take on host Western Oregon.