In his fifth and final season in a Westmont uniform, Westmont Men’s Basketball’s Cade Roth has been honored as one of the top performers in the Golden State Athletic Conference. On Tuesday morning, the GSAC announced Roth as one of the 12 members of the All-GSAC team.
For Roth, it is the second time in his career that he has received all-conference honors.
“This a collective effort from our team to have Cade earn this award,” said Westmont head coach Landon Boucher. “At times, Amir has played like an All-GSAC player. I think Anthony has played like an All-GSAC player for most of the year. Tone has played like that for the past couple weeks, and Cly went through a stretch like that as well.
“That’s how our team is built, and it’s a testament to our team for buying into the idea of playing for each other.”
Roth appeared in all 27 games for the Warriors during his freshman campaign, but in the three subsequent seasons, the wing suffered from multiple injuries that prohibited him from making a season-long impact. This year Roth had the healthiest season of his collegiate career, allowing the fifth-year to start all 27 games, and lead Westmont in minutes played with 835.
While on the court, Roth posted the second-highest scoring average of any Warrior (12.2 PPG), and was also second on the club with 79 assists. Roth led the club with 66 3-pointers made, posting a 3-point percentage of 47.8%, and also led the Warriors with 19 blocks.
The senior’s 47.8% clip from beyond the arc was the highest mark in the GSAC, and the 22nd-highest mark nationally.
Historically, Roth is one of 44 players in program history to join the 1,000 point club, a feat he accomplished earlier this season. Going into the postseason, Roth’s 187 career 3-point field goals made is 10th in program history, and his 3-point field goal percentage of 44.3% is sixth in program history.
Roth’s 328 assists is the 14th-most in program history, and his 129 steals is the 13th-most.
“Cade has been worthy of this award for many seasons,” noted Boucher. “You look at him now as a top-40 scorer all-time at Westmont, he’s just continued to cement his legacy. It’s been an honor to coach him for all five of his years.
“Cade represents our program on and off the floor as a prime example of how we want to carry ourselves. I’m super proud of Cade for this accomplishment, and super excited for the basketball to be played in front of us.”
Roth scored in double-figures in each of Westmont’s five final regular season games, helping lead the Warriors to a season-saving five-game winning streak. Roth also added in 22 assists during the final stretch of the games, which allowed Westmont to move from 5-8 in GSAC play, to 10-8.
After wondering whether or not they’d be able to snag the GSAC’s six seed, the Warriors’ late-season surge propelled the club to the conference’s four-seed at year’s end. This week, the GSAC Tournament will take place in Fullerton on the campus of Hope International, with the winner of the tournament receiving an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament.
Westmont will open up play on Thursday night at 5:00 p.m., when they take on fifth-seeded OUAZ in the GSAC Quarterfinals. Last season, the Spirit eliminated the Warriors in the GSAC Semifinals en route to winning the tournament championship.
If Westmont can get the better of OUAZ during the Quarterfinals, Westmont will go up against top-seeded Arizona Christian, the #2 team in the NAIA, on Friday night for the GSAC Semifinals.
“We’re not wanting it to end,” acknowledged Boucher. “We want more practices, we want to keep it going and we want to still be together each day. Being together has been awesome this year. As we go into our 78th practice this year, it’s amazing that this group still wants more, and that they don’t want it to be over.
“People would be surprised to know how common it is in college basketball to want the season to be over this time of year. For us, seeing our seniors be announced before the game on Saturday and seeing them with tears in their eyes. It means they care, and it shows that they aren’t ready for it to be over.
“I’m proud of this team for being in February now, and still willing to do whatever it takes to keep this thing going.”
Links to live coverage for the entire tournament are available on the Westmont Athletics website.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
