Westmont Men’s Basketball received nineteen points each from junior guards Preston Branson and Jordan Sachs as the Warriors posted a 68-64 Golden State Athletic Conference win over the Hawks of San Diego Christian (6-13, 1-11 GSAC) on Saturday night. Sachs, who was five for five from the field, added ten rebounds to record the first double-double of his collegiate career.

“We find a way to keep them close,” quipped Westmont head coach John Moore. “We played close games in November. We played close games in December. We played close games in January. Now we have played close games in February. We’ve won most of them. You always have to play close games in March. So it bodes well.”

With the win, Westmont improves to 17-4 overall and 9-3 in GSAC play. Because Biola (17-7, 7-5) defeated #16 Concordia (18-5, 8-4) by a score of 75-62 tonight and Hope International (10-9, 3-9) knocked off the #13 The Master’s (16-7, 8-4) by a margin of 60-58, Westmont is alone in first place in the GSAC standings for the third time this season.

“Jordan had a special night,” said Moore. “He played like he did at UCSB. He got put-backs for us. He delivered a couple of clutch threes. He rebounded for us.”

It had to end sometime. Westmont Women’s Basketball, ranked at number four in the NAIA, saw their 16-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday night in El Cajon where the Hawks of San Diego Christian (17-7, 6-6 GSAC) defeated the Warriors 59-56 in a Golden State Athletic Conference game.

“My hope is that this loss is going to make us better in March and better even on Tuesday and that this team uses this to fuel us to continue to get better and keep striving for the goals that we set,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore.

The Warriors, who are now 21-2 overall and 11-1 in GSAC play, remain in first place in the GSAC standings, two games ahead of #9 Vanguard (15-5, 9-3) and #12 Azusa Pacific (16-6, 9-3) who are tied for second. San Diego Christian is in a three-way tie for fourth place with Biola (14-8, 6-6) and Point Loma Nazarene (15-9, 6-6).

The Warriors led by as much as ten in the first half; however the Hawks cut the margin in half by the intermission (25-20). In the first five minutes of the second half, San Diego Christian outscored the Warriors 15-4 to take a 35-29 lead. The score remained close throughout the rest of the game, but turnovers and missed opportunities in the final minute kept the Warriors from securing the win.

Westmont Track and Field kicked off the indoor season on Saturday afternoon by hosting the Westmont Sunshine Indoor Open. Azusa Pacific, Biola, Concordia, Vanguard, Fresno Pacific and California Baptist all competed in the event.

“It was a nice start to the season – perfect weather, good and friendly competition and a great facility,” said Westmont head coach Russell Smelley.

Westmont’s Amanda Chevalier, competing in the first section of the women’s 60 meter dash, set a new school record for the event of 7.97 seconds. However, she was only able to claim the record for a few minutes. In the next heat, freshman Elysia Hodges beat her time by 0.01 seconds to claim the school record for herself. Hodges and Chevalier finished second and third, respectively, behind Azusa Pacific’s Anita Fung (7.89 seconds).

In the 200 meter, Chevalier finished second with a time of 25.67. Fresno Pacific’s Brandy Hurd (25.59 seconds).

In the mile race, Westmont’s Amber Collier (5:29.10) and Melissa McGregor finished (5:40.56) first and second.

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Westmont Baseball (1-2-1) finished up its trip to Monterey with a split of a twin bill on Saturday. In the first game, Westmont prevailed 6-4 over the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay (2-1) but fell in the second game by a score of 16-4.

Mitch Crocker picked up the win for the Warriors in the early game after pitching four innings in relief. Crocker allowed one unearned run on two hits, struck out two and walked two. Torin Shaikh started the game and pitched four innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits. Shaikh walked one and struck out one.

At the plate, right fielder Coby Cress went two for four with two RBI’s and a run scored while designated hitter Tim Leary was two for four with a double and one RBI.

The Warriors broke a two-two tie by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning. Two runs scored on a bases-loaded double by second baseman David Pennington. Cress drove in two more with a single through the left side.

Westmont Men’s Baseball (0-1-1) suffered its first loss of the 2012 season, falling to Cal State Monterey Bay (1-0) by a score of 4-3 on Friday afternoon in Monterey. The two teams will face-off again tomorrow in a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.

“The guys battled back, which was good to see,” said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. “We have some things to work on, but looking back on it we did some good things as well and the team kept fighting.”

The Otters scored a single run in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batter Matt Urakami was issued a walk by starting pitcher Geoff Rocha (0-1) and later scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Brian Haggett.

Cal State Monterey Bay added another run in the bottom of the third inning, also the result of a leadoff walk. Shortstop Jason Merjano walked, took second on a wild pitch and reached third on a pass ball. He scored from third when Haggett ground into a double play.

The Warriors pulled to within one run in the top of the fifth. With one away catcher Jarratt Rouse was hit by a pitch and awarded first base. Shortstop Brent Fukushima reached on an error by the Otters’ shortstop while Rouse advanced to second.

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T.J. Lipold only made one basket the entire game – one momentum turning, story changing, game winning basket. As a result, Westmont Men’s Basketball posted an 82-80 Golden State Athletic Conference win over Vanguard (13-9, 5-6). As a result, the Warriors improved to 16-4 overall and 8-3 in conference play. As a result, Westmont remains in a tie for first place in the GSAC standings.

“All T.J. makes is clutch baskets,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “He gets another one to put in his storybook of clutch baskets. There are a lot of players who never make a game winner. T.J. has made ten or twelve in his college career.”

The first half was a face-paced, closely contested, high-scoring affair. Westmont made 72% of their shots from the floor (18 of 25), yet still trailed at the intermission 49-45. Neither team led by more than five points during the first half, nor by more than six at any point in the game.

“At halftime we changed the tempo of the game,” said Moore. “Vanguard is the second-highest scoring team in the conference and they can put up big numbers. We were able to tone it down in the second half. We gained a six-point lead and that was because we played a tempo game for the first six to eight minutes.

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Freshman guard Aubrey Lincoln knocked down seven of 14 three-point attempts to help #4 Westmont Women’s Basketball win its sixteenth game in a row, and more importantly, its second game of the season against #9 Vanguard in a Golden State Athletic Conference showdown. The Warriors won by a margin of 73-58.

Junior forward Tugce Canitez tallied 29 points and 14 rebounds for her twelfth double-double of the season. Yesterday, Canitez was named the Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week after averaging 27 points and 16.5 rebounds against Fresno Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene last week.

Vanguard (15-4, 9-2 GSAC) came into the contest just one game back of the Warriors. Westmont (21-1, 11-0) now holds a two-game lead over the second-place Lions with seven games remaining on the conference schedule.

The Warriors struggled in the first half, making just 25.8% of their attempts from the floor (8 of 31) and trailed the Lions at the break 30-24.

[box score]

Westmont men’s and women’s basketball is currently serving as hosts to four Ugandan coaches who are touring the United States in an effort to promote the sport of basketball in their home country as part of the International Sport Connection Basketball Coach Training and Cultural Exchange Program.

The trip is organized by Dr. Jens Olmi, assistant professor of health, exercise and sports sciences, as well as the director of the International Sport Connection. It is funded by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Sports United Division.

“The outcome that the State Department wants is for people of the United States to engage and build friendships with the people of Uganda,” explained Olmi, a 2001 Westmont graduate. “The interest of the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association is to help the game of basketball develop in Uganda.

“My personal interest is helping coaches transition from a narrow focus on talent development and strategy implementation to a more comprehensive vision of coaching which involves using sports to help youth develop and promote development of communities – helping them to be prepared for future responsibilities they will encounter as husbands and wives and mothers and fathers and employees and community members.”