The Warriors outscored the Royals of Hope International 21-4 in the last 9:35 to turn a close 42-39 battle into a 20 point blow out (63-43).

Westmont opened up a five point advantage to start the game on a jumper by Julia Morrow (11 points, 5 rebounds) and a layup by Megan Fate (14 points, 4 assists). But the Royals responded with a 12-3 run to take a 12-8 advantage with 10:25 remaining in the first half. The score remained unchanged for three minutes and 41 seconds until a jumper by Morrow broke the ice and started a 8-0 run by the Warriors which included baskets by Fate, Dani Russell (six points) and Stephanie Anderson (13 points). The Royals battled back to tie the game at 19 before Megan Lovinger (six points) scored on a jumper to give the Warriors a two-point advantage going into halftime.

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Kyle Bechler recorded 35 points in the Warriors 89-66 conference victory over the Royals of Hope International (1-3, 0-1). Bechler converted 12 of 15 field goals including 8 of 11 three-point shots. Bechler’s eight three-pointers ties him for second in the Warrior record books with Sean Martin for most three-point field goals made in a game. Martin recorded eight three-point goals twice in the 1995-96 season. Martin also holds the record with ten against Western Washington in the 1994-95 season.

The Warriors (4-1, 1-0) fell behind early as the Royals’ Jared Lloyd (13 points) sank a three to start the scoring and Rodrigo Clement (10 points) added two free-throws to give Hope International a 5-1 lead. Santiago Aguirre gave the Warriors a temporary lead (8-7) with a layup at the 14:28 mark, but the Royals again pulled away on a three pointer by Greg Gusiff and a bucket by Clement. With the score 8-12 in favor of the Royals, Bechler hit the first of six three-point shots in the first half to pull within one. Two more three-point goals and the score was even at 17. The Warriors never looked back, taking a 42-30 lead at halftime on a three-point buzzer beater by Bechler on an inbound pass from under the basket by Matt Burkholder. Burkholder recorded 15 points, six assists and five rebounds on the night.

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Westmont Women’s Basketball lost to Menlo College 60-55. “We didn’t play with the same intensity as last night,” noted Head Coach Chris Schultz, “and that was disappointing.” The Warriors led 25-24 at halftime and were down by only one with 1:38 to go, but turnovers and missed shots prevented the Warriors from gaining the victory.

Meghan O’Donogue scored 22 points for the Warriors, going six-for-11 from beyond the three-point arc. O’Donogue was named to the All-Tournament Team. Dani Russel added 15 more. Russell, O’Donogue and Julia Morrow each recorded five rebounds, but Menlo had a 45-27 advantage on rebounds including 21 offensive rebounds by the Oaks.

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The Warriors stretched their record to 3-1 on the young season with a 71-57 victory over Oregon Tech in the Holy Names Tournament. The Owls won the NAIA Division II Championship in 2004.

Kyle Bechler and Nick Debban each recorded 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Warriors. Matt Burkholder and Luke Allen added 12 each, with Allen going a perfect 5-5 from the field. Burkholder also contributed six rebounds in the win.

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Days before the GSAC season is set to begin, the Warriors had a chance to test themselves against one of the best in the conference. Playing in the Menlo College Classic, Westmont took on the Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene.

Half way through the first period, the Warriors had a ten point lead but the Sea Lions battle back to end the half with a 37-31 advantage. The see-saw battle continued with the Warriors taking a 54-49 lead with 10:56 left in the contest. Point Loma roared back, however, to go up by five with four minutes remaining. Though the Sea Lions would not score again, turnovers and missed layups prevented the Warriors from getting any closer than two points as the game ended in a Warrior loss, 63-61.

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Westmont Men’s Basketball recorded a decisive win against the Hawks of Holy Names 82-65. “Matt Burkholder had a great game playing in front of family and friends,” noted Head Coach John Moore. Burkholder, who is from nearby Pleasanton, recorded 24 points by going six-for-six from the field and 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

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“Women’s basketball travelled to Riverside tonight and came away with a 83-75 victory over the Golden Eagles of La Sierra University. “We made improvements on the offensive end tonight,” said Head Coach Chris Schultz. Those improvements were evident in three Warriors scoring in double digits. Meghan O’Donogue scored 26 points while shooting five for nine from beyond the three-point line. Megan Fate recorded 20 points and Julia Morrow added twelve more.

“La Sierra played very hard,” reported Schutlz. “We led the whole game but they kept battling back. Everytime we would get ahead by ten, they would battle back to within two points. ” The Warriors struggled from the free throw line making 28 of 49.

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The Warriors’ home opener turned into a one-sided contest as Westmont (1-1) defeated the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales (Fla.) (3-4) by a score of 95-65. The Warriors stretched a 19 point half-time lead (50-31) into the final 30 point margin.

Four Warriors scored in double figures. Nick Debban led all players with 21 points, Kyle Bechler added another 19, Matt Burkholder had 16 and Luke Allen contributed 15. Burkholder also had eight rebounds (six offensive) and five assists. Debban and Kevin Bartel had five rebounds each. Bechler hit five of six three-point attempts. The Warriors shot 69% from the field in the first half including six of nine from behind the three-point arc.

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