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Westmont men’s basketball loses a heartbreaker to Hawai’i Pacific

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Adrian McIntyre scored 22 points in the loss

MONTECITO, Calif. - Westmont Men’s Basketball (6-12, 4-6 PacWest) came oh so close to what could have been an exhilarating win in front of their home crowd on Saturday. Instead, a last-second shot from the Hawaii Pacific Sharks (9-9, 4-5) silenced Westmont’s best crowd of the year in an eventual 72-70 win for the visitors.

A tight-knit first half saw HPU lead 42-37 at intermission, with the underlying numbers favoring the Sharks. At the break, HPU was shooting 68% from the field (17-25), and the Sharks were also out-rebounding the Warriors 16-6. The Sharks had also made five of 11 from three-point land while Westmont landed four of their first 13.

To open up Westmont’s scoring a minute into the second half Adrian McIntyre found De’Undrae Perteete on a wide-open cut to the basket. After another minute passed, Perteete once again found the bottom of the rim following an HPU turnover in transition. At the 17:05 mark, what could have been an “and-one” opportunity for Jarrett Bryant was instead called his third foul of the night. At the 15:39 mark, the first media timeout of the second commenced with the Warriors trailing 44-41.

Three more points from McIntyre pulled the Warriors even, before Drew Ramirez did the same thing by answering an HPU three with one of his own. After an HPU four-point swing, Bryant once again connected from beyond the arc, keeping the crowd engaged with Westmont trailing by just one point at the 11:32 mark in the second half.

While Westmont’s momentum was halted in the first half following a pair of whistles on Bryant, a similar occurrence happened at the 9:30 mark in the second half. With Westmont down four, Drew Ramirez hoisted up a three-pointer that would eventually rattle down the net. However, while the shot left his hands, a whistle was blown on an apparent illegal screen set by a Warrior. Instead of Ramirez’ three making it a one-point game, HPU was awarded possession still up four. The call really began to string moments later, when HPU’s sixth three-pointer of the night put the club up a game-high seven points at 59-52.

Westmont trailed by as many as nine before a layup from Ramirez pulled it back within seven heading into the game’s penultimate media timeout (7:50). Just one minute later, Westmont all of a sudden was looking at an 11-point deficit (65-54). Weathering the storm, a tenacious finish from McIntyre followed by a three from Bryant interjected some life into the building to pull Westmont back within two possessions. Hope remained alive when Westmont gained possession following an HPU travel heading into the game’s final media timeout at the 3:38 mark.

The next 3:36 was the most fun that any student had had inside The Murch during the school year, with what felt like a signature comeback brewing. With under 2:30 remaining, McIntyre landed a three-pointer to make it a one-possession game, which raised the volume in Murchison Gym up a few unfamiliar levels. After the teams exchanged baskets, the ball would once again find McIntyre with under 30 seconds to go and his team down three.

With just 23 seconds remaining, McIntyre took a dribble atop the key, took one step to his left, and leaned forward as he threw up one of the biggest shots of his senior year. His home crowd just about blew the roof off of his gym when the ball sank through the net and tied the game. For the next 21 seconds, The Murch remained loud, boisterous, raucous; all the words that have evaded recent vibes inside Westmont’s home gym as of late.

How sweet a scene it might have been, if not for the final two seconds of regulation. After draining down the clock the Sharks dribbled the ball down low, and found Joshua West for a one-on-one opportunity in the paint. West muscled his way to the basket and got a layup to fall with just 1.6 seconds remaining, sucking the life out of Murchison Gym instantly. McIntyre threw up a full-court prayer as time expired, but the shot would not come close, and Westmont’s most exciting finish of the season ended with another gut-wrenching loss during this season-long homestand.

McIntyre led Westmont with 22 points on 10 of 16 shooting. A strong night from Bryant saw the junior finish with 19 on seven of nine shooting.

On Saturday the Warriors will not only host Chaminade at 3:00 p.m., but the Warriors will also welcome in generations of former Westmont players during a special alumni event. During halftime of Saturday’s contest, Westmont will specifically honor the 1983-84 Westmont men’s basketball, an NAIA semi-finalist squad that is widely considered one of the greatest Westmont Basketball teams in college history.

(Article courtesy of Westmont Athletics)

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Mike Klan

Mike Klan is the sports director for News Channel 3-12. To learn more about Mike, click here.

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