The Westmont men’s basketball team was tested early, but passed with flying colors by the final whistle, securing an 88-78 win over Bethesda (Calif.) at home on Monday night.
The Warriors trailed 13-4 out of the gate, but used a 13-0 run to take a 17-13 lead.
“I don’t think we played particularly well tonight, but we played the game we needed to play and we had to learn how to persevere a little bit,” said Westmont head coach John Moore. “It was really good for us.”
Westmont (2-0) started to separate itself in the first half, extending the lead to as many as 14 points, taking 44-32 lead into halftime, mostly behind 14 first-half points from Hunter Sipe.
Tristan Lloyd also had 10 of his game-high 11 rebounds in the opening half, helping the Warriors take control in the paint.
“Tristan set the tone,” said Moore. “We outrebounded them as a team, 53-29, but Tristan was the one who set the tone in the first half. He ran the floor hard and brought great energy off the bench.”
Sipe finished the night with 27 points, nine rebounds and four steals, leading a starting squad that saw every member score in double figures.
“Any time you can have all five starters score in double figures, that’s sharing the ball,” said Moore. “Even though we did have 19 turnovers, we had 20 assists, so I thought that was pleasant.”
Westmont returns to action on Nov. 6 with another home game, with Yellowstone Christian of Montana coming to town.
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