FULLERTON — Two years ago, Arizona Christian came into Murchison Gym and defeated top-seeded Westmont 102-86, knocking out the Warriors in the GSAC Semifinals.
But after a regular season that tested every ounce of patience the Warriors had, Westmont returned the favor.
On Thursday night in Fullerton, ninth-seeded the Westmont men’s basketball team upset top-seeded Arizona by a score of 75-63 in the GSAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
“As a staff and as a team, we are so proud of the improvement we have seen in the last week,” said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. “We were watching film leading up to this of our last game against ACU, which was about a month ago. We look like a completely different team now.”
Since Westmont defeated Arizona Christian in their matchup on December 2, the clubs have experienced two drastically different seasons. Since then, coming into tonight’s contest, Westmont had dropped 13 of 17 GSAC games, while ACU won 18 of 19 contests. The Firestorm also came into the night riding a 10-game game winning streak.
Come tip-off, none of that mattered.
Ajay Singh followed up last night’s 25-point performance by once again leading the Warriors, this time with 21 points. Nate Meithof was close behind with 17 points of his own, and Jared Brown, who made three shots from beyond the arc, added in 11 points.
Jalen Townsell, who scored nine points, led the Warriors in the rebound battle with 10 of his own.
“Nate is improving so much on picking his spots,” noted Boucher. “When he realizes when he should and shouldn’t attack, he’s so tough to guard. On top of that, with the confidence Ajay is playing with, he’s changed the entire dynamic of our team. Also, Jalen Townsell did an unbelievable job protecting the paint.”
The difference in the game down the Warriors’ greatest strength, the ability to shoot the basketball. Overall, Westmont made 30 of 58 shots (51.7%). On the other end of the court, Westmont held Arizona Christian to a 37.9% clip from the field (25-66).
In the first half, neither side let the other pull away, with Westmont taking the first multi-possession lead with 5:22 left in the period. At that point, Cly Griffith Jr. converted a layup that put the Warriors up 26-22. Then, Arizona Christian scored five unanswered points to reclaim a one point advantage.
Going into halftime, Westmont trailed 30-29.
At the beginning of the second half, Westmont threw their best punch of the season early and never looked back.
Meithof scored the first basket of the second half, putting Westmont up 31-30. After a free throw from the Firestorm, Singh converted a layup to put Westmont up 33-31 with 18:54 to play. From that point on, Westmont never trailed again.
Two minutes later, Griffith finished at the rim, stretching Westmont’s lead to 41-33. Although 16:52 remained in the game, Westmont’s bench began to sense the opportunity.
A minute later, Meithof and Brown hit back-to-back shots putting Westmont up 47-35. Then, Singh followed it up with a layup of his own to stretch the lead to 14.
The Firestorm got back within 11 moments later, but a 9-2 run from Westmont capped off by a layup from Sebastian Reynoso put the club up 58-40 going into a timeout. With 9:57 left to play, and an 18-point advantage, Westmont’s bench celebrated while holding their heads as high as they’ve been all season.
Arizona Christian’s GSAC-best defense stood tall for much of the final ten minutes, including a three-minute span where they held Westmont scoreless. Fortunately, for Westmont, their defense stood just as tall. After ACU chipped away briefly, a layup from Meithof with 3:03 remaining rebuilt the lead to 18 at 65-47.
Over the final 3:03, Arizona Christian outscored Westmont 18-8. However, when the final buzzer sounded, not a single man wearing maroon cared, as Westmont officially defeated Arizona Christian 73-65.
“It’s crazy to think that we have had three practices all year with our full squad,” expressed Boucher. “Tonight was just our third game all season being as full strength as possible. Right now, we’re rolling with what we have and making the best of it.
“The guys are having a lot of fun together and I’m really proud of them.”
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
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