Lions fall at finish

Steve Virgen

Almost.

That must have been what the Vanguard University Lions were saying

after they nearly rallied from a 26-point deficit, but lost, 62-55,

to Westmont in a Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball

game at the Pit Tuesday.

The Lions (6-6, 0-2) trailed, 44-18, with 16:46 remaining, but

came within 50-45 with 8:11 left. Westmont (6-5, 1-1) regrouped and led 58-47 with three minutes to go. However, Vanguard came back again

and cut the deficit to 58-55 when Horace Wormely drove for a layup

with 25 seconds left.

The Lions had to foul Westmont. Kevin Blomstrom, the Warriors’

best shooter, knocked down both free throws on the double-bonus

opportunity with 20 seconds left. Then Vanguard’s Brian Kim was short

on a reverse layup with 13 ticks left, and Blomstrom was fouled and

hit both free throws again.

“They’ve got a lot of heart,” Vanguard Coach Bob Wilson said of

his team. “We have played with heart most of the year. But we can’t

put ourselves in that position against an excellent team.”

Vanguard dug its hole with a poor-shooting first half. The Lions

were 24% from the field (six of 25) and they also committed 11

turnovers, as the Warriors built a 37-16 halftime lead. But Wormely,

a 5-foot-6 point guard who scored all 16 of his points in the second

half, led the comeback. He nailed four of six three-pointers after

halftime.

In addition, Josh Pierson came off the bench to add nine points on

three three-pointers, and Brian Kim contributed 15 points. Kim scored

eight points in the second half when he drove to the basket instead

of shooting from the outside. Curt Watson (four points) and Levi

Seekins (four) were also instrumental in the Lions’ rally.

Blomstrom led the Warriors with 17 points.

The Lions drew seven offensive fouls, including two in the final

two minutes to grab momentum. But the Warriors remained patient and

held off Vanguard to grab their first GSAC win, leaving the Lions

searching for one of their own.

“It’s a 40-minute game and we have to be ready,” Wilson said. “I

think we were ready to start, but we were just out of sync.”

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Golden State Athletic Conference

Westmont 62, Vanguard 55

Westmont -- Bartel 5, Tudor 2, Blomstrom 17, Debban 3, Grgas 13, Burkholder 14, Allen 6, Aguirre 2. 3-pt. goals -- Blomstrom 3, Allen 2, Bartel 1. Vanguard -- Wormely 16, Burnette 3, Dalafu 0, McGee 2, Kim 15, Pierson 9, Watson 4, Seekins 4, Rosborough

2. 3-pt. goals -- Wormely 4, Pierson 3, Kim 1. Fouled out -- Seekins. Halftime -- Westmont, 37-16.

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