Season ends for Westmont men’s basketball
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Nearly 20 minutes in, the Westmont Men’s Basketball team led by seven, but ultimately, the Warriors could not hold onto the basketball, nor their once-three-possession lead. Eventually, it cost them their season in what turned out to be an 85-69 loss against the Academy of Art Urban Knights on Thursday night in San Rafael.
In the first half the PacWest Player of the Year, Adrian McIntyre, was held scoreless for nearly 10 minutes. The rest of the club, however, looked up to the challenge out of the gate. First half contributions included a couple big baskets from Jarrett Bryant, and a trio of three-pointers from Mason Romano.
One of those triples came at the six-minute mark, when Westmont still trailed ART U 25-24. After a layup from McIntyre, however, Romano followed up with two straight makes from three-point land, putting Westmont up 32-28 in the final four minutes of the half. From a Westmont perspective, the night peaked with 51 seconds left in the first half, when McIntyre landed a long-range look to put the Warriors up 43-36.
A costly final minute, however, sent a boisterous ART U squad into the locker room feeling a lot better about themselves. The Urban Knights had not one, not two, but three chances on one possession with under 30 seconds to play, with the third chance being a three-pointer that pulled ART U back within four. Then, on the ensuing inbound with under 20 seconds remaining, the Warriors could not connect with one another from under their own basket. One of eight turnovers in the first half hand-delivered a free basket to the Urban Knights, allowing the club to pull right back within two going into the intermission.
“I felt like we were playing the basketball we had played all of February in the first half,” reflected head coach Landon Boucher, “but credit to Art’s. They turned it up and just shot the ball amazingly. They hit 13 threes, and we were just unable to get any momentum going with the shots they were hitting.”
Out of halftime, the clubs traded baskets leading up to the 16-minute mark, when Adrian connected on another shot from long-range, putting Westmont up 51-46. Less than ten seconds later, however, Westmont surrendered another three right back to ART U. The Urban Knights tied things up moments later, before another basket from McIntyre put Westmont up 53-51. It would be the last lead this Westmont team would ever have.
ART U tied things up at the 13:10 mark, and took the lead at the 12:46 mark. It would be all ART U from that point on. The Warriors would ultimately go nearly 10 minutes without a basket, committing six turnovers during that time, and allowing ART U to go on a game-defining 19-0 run to bring Westmont’s campaign to a screeching halt.
The Warriors committed 17 turnovers compared to ART U’s seven, with the Urban Knights capitalizing for 18 points off of the extra chances. ART U shot over 50% during the second half (16-30), while Westmont made just nine of 27 from the field during the final period.
“I am still super proud of our team,” assured Boucher. “To have had a February like we’ve had was special. Guys showed a lot of heart and a lot of resilience. To put that together, to get here for the first time in our first year of being eligible, it was special to do it with these guys.“
The night brings to an end the Westmont career of Adrian McIntyre, who finishes with a single season program record 752 points after dropping 29 on Thursday. His average of 27.9 per-game, is a Westmont, and a PacWest single season record.
“First off, I was just to give thanks to God,” said McIntyre after his final game in a Westmont uniform. “God has done His work within our team. He has been a huge part of our team each and every day. As far as the tournament goes, people thought we were going to be at the bottom of our conference this year.
“To finish in the top-six, and get here in our first season eligible, it meant a lot. It’s probably why I haven’t taken my jersey off yet, because I know once I take it off I won’t be putting it back on. Being here with this group of guys was different. Obviously it ended quicker than we wanted it to, but Art’s was just on a different level tonight. But, you know, that’s basketball. You just have to figure out how to move on from it.”
Also graduating will be Drew Ramirez, who finished as the 11th-best three-point shooter in program history, and Mason Romano, who finished his Westmont career with a season-high 16 points.
Speaking to the future, junior Jarrett Bryant said, “This season is kind of an inspiration. It’s going to push all of us to get right back here next season. I think it just makes everyone hungrier. It was exciting, even though it ended before we wanted it to. It’s motivating, that’s for sure.”
(Article courtesy Westmont Athletics).
