Box Score Santa Barbara, CA- For the second night in a row Arizona Christian beat Warriors in the GSAC Tournament. The Friday Warriors were the top seed Westmont as the Firestorm shot their way to a 102-86 win. The victory sends ACU to Championship Saturday where they will face the sixth seed Hope International.
- Game score: Arizona Christian - 102, Westmont - 86
- Records: Arizona Christian - 24-8, Westmont - 26-5
- NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - 19, Westmont - 6
- Location: Murchison Gym, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
- De'Ron Kyle - 29 points
- Terence Shelby, Jr. - 22 points, 8-12 shooting
- Al Burge - 17 points, 8 rebounds, 7-9 shooting
- Xander Bowers - 13 points
- Shane Carney - 10 points
- The teams went back and forth with Westmont leading 21-20 nine and a half minutes into the game
- Kyle nailed a three and one to give ACU the edge
- WC cut the lead to one before ACU moved ahead by as many as 14 points in the first half
- At the break, Arizona Christian was in front 50-41 with Kyle delivering 19 first half points
- The Firestorm shot 48.8% from the field in the first 20 minutes
- ACU kept right on rolling in the second half by shooting 53.6%
- The Firestorm will play in the GSAC Championship Game for the first time since 2012-13 (their first year in the GSAC)
Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"Great team win. I am really proud of our guys. We played with tremendous poised."
"They hurt us on the offensive glass and in transition early this year and we did a nice job executing defensively to limit those opportunities. De'Ron was outstanding again but I think the bench was the difference. Al and Terence are both tourney tested veterans and were really good once again."
"Hope International has been the hottest team in the conference these past couple weeks. Looking forward to another battle with them."
Up Next
On Saturday, Arizona Christian and Hope International, who have knocked off the third and then second seeds, will play for the GSAC Championship and automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm (Pacific)/ 8:30 pm (Arizona) in Santa Barbara, CA.
