By Jacob Norling
November 29, 2025
 
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) It will be a happy flight home for the Westmont Men's Basketball team (3-3) that won both of their games this weekend in Alaska. Their second victim in as many nights was the Alaska Anchorage SeaWolves, who the Warriors bested by a score of 64-58.
 
In what has been a common theme early on this season the Warriors took more than a handful of minutes to warm up offensively, but for the second night in a row, Westmont's defense bought the squad enough time for that early dry spell to be a moot point. More than 10 minutes had passed in the first half with Westmont just five of 18 from the field and 0-8 from three-point land, but on the other end, the Sea Wolves struggled to find open looks themselves.
 
For the Warriors the main issue was not creating shots, so much as it was finding the right man to land one. Westmont trailed 15-11 with under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, before a barrage of baskets from JV Brown flipped the game in Westmont's favor.
 
"We were doing a good job of dictating the tempo of the game from the beginning," said Westmont head coach Justin Leslie. "We were getting the things that we wanted, we just weren't making shots. One of the things I have been continually trying to get the team to understand is that we can never let making or missing shots dictate how we defend.
 
"We had to stay consistent on the defensive side of the ball, and that was what finally came through tonight. We did a fantastic job of staying consistent defensively. The fact that we were able to stay the course, and assert ourselves on the glass especially really set a tone in that first half. Then, ultimately, when JV started making some shots, it just opened things up for us. From that point on, we were able to get the separation necessary to get the job done."
 
Brown not only connected on three shots from beyond the arc in the first half, but the Rolling Hills native also connected on an additional trio of buckets from inside the arc. In total, a 16-point first half for Brown saw Westmont turn a once-15-11 deficit into a 33-23 halftime lead.
 
In the second half, Westmont led by as many as 19 with under eight minutes to go, and as many as 13 with under three minutes to go. The Sea Wolves made their share of baskets to make the final margin appear a bit closer than it felt, but in reality the Warriors never let the Sea Wolves pull within a possession after the end of the first period. Westmont's perimeter defense was especially key, with the Warriors holding their opponent to six makes in 22 attempts from three-point range.
 
"We knew it was going to be a tall task tonight," assured Leslie. "Anchorage is extremely physical and tough, and they force you to be at your best defensively. I think we have learned the last two weekends now that we are going to consistently face teams that are going to come out with this physical, slow-the-game-down type of action against us.
 
"We have to go out on nights like this knowing we can get the job done defensively. I think this weekend was a much better indication of who we are. With that, our defense always starts with good shot selection, and not turning the ball over. I thought our shot selection tonight was strong, and having 12 turnovers with that was a good result."
 
Brown ended the night with a game-high 23 points on eight of 14 shooting, while Logan Huston also scored in double-figures (12) while picking up four assists. Those are two of the new-faces, along with contributors like Trey Thompson, that showcase much of the rapid learning being done by Leslie's new club
 
"We don't have a lot of players on this roster that have played a ton of minutes at this level," reminded Leslie. "We don't have a lot of guys that have been in the game, learning how to physically close it out. It is one thing to practice that and to talk about it, but it's an entirely different thing to know what that feels like in the moment to get the job done. That's something these guys have to get out there and experience.
 
"As we got deeper into the game, really into winning time at the end, I was just really pleased with how our backcourt handled themselves, specifically. As far as a guy who does know what that moment is like, give Jarrett credit for closing it out at the free throw line."
 
Jarrett Bryant, the longest-tenured Warrior, played a team-high 35 minutes, scored 17 points, and collected a team-high seven rebounds. To Leslie's point, Bryant's most crucial contribution came at the free throw line, where the senior went 11 of 12 from the stripe to help ice the game. For his efforts, Bryant was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Sprite Tundra Tip-Off All-Tournament Team. Huston was also named to the weekend's All-Tournament Team, for good measure.
 
On Wednesday night PacWest play begins in Irvine, where the Westmont Warriors will take on the Concordia Golden Eagles at 7:00 p.m.