After a 24-day break, #20 Westmont Women’s Basketball (9-1) picked up a hard-fought 55-52 win over William Jewell (Mo.) on Tuesday at the Surf City Classic in Irvine. Junior point guard Amber Stevens led the Warriors with 16 points and pulled down as many rebounds in the victory.

“William Jewel was a very physical team which pressed the entire game,” reported Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore. “We followed Amber to get the win. She played with great intensity and did whatever we needed her to do to win the basketball game.”

The contest marked the one hundredth game for Moore as Westmont’s head coach whose coaching record improved to 61-39. It also marked the second year in a row in which Westmont has gone undefeated (8-0) against non-conference opponents.

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Westmont Men’s Basketball (7-4) used a stifling defense to more than double-up Ripon (Wis.) and claim the championship game of the 33rd Annual Tom Byron Classic on Tuesday at Murchison Gymnasium. The Warrior’s 80-38 win was the largest margin of victory ever posted in a Byron championship game.

“I had a feeling we would show up tonight,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “I had no idea we would show up defensively the way we did. Even against teams which aren’t very good we have allowed 50 plus points but tonight we did it against a quality team which is well coached and did it in both halves. All the way down the line, from the point guard to the wings to Evan Haines (at center) who had a superb game and was challenging shots, we played solid defense. Dan (Rasp) played perhaps the best defensive game of his Westmont career.

“Defense always starts at the point guard,” continued Moore. “C.J. (Christopher Jackson) really took the big challenge guarding Scott Gillespie who is averaging 22.6 points per game. He took him completely out of the game which forced the team into disarray.”

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The first day of the 33rd Annual Tom Byron came to a conclusion on Monday night in Murchison Gymnasium with Ripon of Wisconsin (4-2) and Westmont (6-4) advancing to the championship match on Tuesday night. Ripon defeated Queen’s of Ontario, Canada (3-6) by a score of 64-54 behind 23 points and five rebounds by sophomore guard Scott Gillespie. Junior guard Andy Perrine added another 14 points for the Red Hawks while sophomore forward Martin Esters recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Up 9-7 in the first half, Ripon produced a 9-3 run to jump out to a 15-7 lead nine minutes into the contest. But the Gaels of Queen’s turned the tables and manufactured their own 9-3 run to pull within two points (18-16) with 5:24 remaining on the first half clock. The Red Hawks took over the rest of the half, outscoring the Gaels 17-9 to take a 35-25 lead into the locker room. The ten point margin proved to be the difference in the game as the two teams played even in the second half, each scoring 34 points.

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It was a storybook ending to a storybook night.

On Saturday night, Westmont honored former men’s basketball coach Chet Kammerer by naming the hardwood “Kammerer Court” in the newly renovated Murchison Gymnasium. Kammerer coached the Warriors for 17 seasons from 1975 to 1992 amassing a record of 357-158 (.693).

Kammerer was honored at a pre-game ceremony and presented a plaque by Westmont President Gayle Beebe which commemorated his contributions to the men’s basketball program. The plaque contained a portion of the old gym floor which was replaced this past summer.

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By Westmont Men’s Basketball Coach John Moore

I am not sure what my favorite part of the Kammerer Court Dedication Night was as there were so many highlights. Was it Chet’s very personal talk to our current Warrior team about his time as a student athlete at Grace College? Yes. Was it the 5:30 – 6:30 reception where Master of Ceremony Ron Mulder guided an intimate question and answer time between Chet and the delighted crowd of friends and former players and their families? Yes.

Or was it the official floor dedication where Dr. David Winter and Randy Pfund gave their tribute to Chet the man, Chet the coach, Chet the competitor, Chet the husband and father, and Chet the follower of Christ? Yes again.

Junior guard Andrew Schmalbach (13 points) went five for five from the field, including three from behind the arc, as Westmont Men’s Basketball defeated Bendigo of Australia by a score of 87-80 in an exhibition game at Murchison Gymnasium. The Warriors were led in scoring by sophomore forward Dan Rasp who made 13 of 14 free throw attempts on his way to a 23-point night.

Bendigo was led by guard Kevin Probert with 25 points and forward Chris Novak with 20. Chris Hogan had a double-double for the Braves with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors started the game with a 7-0 run which culminated with the first of Schmalbach’s three-point bombs. But the Braves stayed within a single digit of the Warriors until Westmont junior point guard Chris Jackson capitalized on a steal by Matt LeDuc and laid the ball in the basket to give Westmont a 32-21 advantage with 2:07 remaining in the first half.

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Seven of ten was the ratio for sophomore forward Dan Rasp on Saturday night in Murchison Gymnasium where Westmont Men’s Basketball defeated Hope International by a score of 85-67 in Golden State Athletic Conference action. Rasp, who tallied 21 points, made seven of ten from both the field and from the charity stripe for the Warriors who improved their record to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

With the Warriors up 7-6 early in the first half, Rasp nailed a jumper to ignite a 21-4 run, giving the Warriors a 28-10 advantage with 7:52 to play in the first half.

At halftime, the Warriors held a 44-27 advantage. But the Royals (1-5, 0-2 GSAC) came out strong from the locker room and cut the Westmont lead to eight points (48-40) when Buai Tut nailed a three-pointer (21 points) with 14:51 remaining in the game. That was as close as Hope International would get. Westmont scored 18 of the next 22 points, building a 66-44 advantage.

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Sophomore forward Angel Blanco made five of six field goal attempts and recorded 15 points and six rebounds to help lead #16 Westmont Women’s Basketball to a 83-45 win over Hope International at Murchison Gymnasium on Saturday night. In the Golden State Athletic Conferece match-up, Westmont (8-1, 1-1 GSAC) posted the first 13 points including seven by Blanco to take control of the game early.

“We’ve been having great focused starts and we got off to a great start tonight,” said Westmont head coach Kirsten Moore.

Hope International (0-5, 0-2 GSAC) finally got on the board with a jumper by Brittani Philbrook (14, 9 rebounds). The Royals battled back and narrowed the margin to six points (27-21) after Philbrook converted an old-fashion three-point play.

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