COSTA MESA -- Senior night for men's basketball honored five seniors before the game to a sold-out Pit. Unfortunately, the seniors and the crowd that attended the final basketball game in the old barn left disappointed, as the Hope International Royals quieted the room in the first half and walked away with a 73-51 victory. The Royals will finish the year with a 22-6 record overall and a 14-4 mark in the Golden State Athletic Conference. The Lions will finish the regular season at 18-11 and a 10-8 record in the GSAC.
What Happened? James Moore (SR/Talco, TX) got the first bucket of the night almost two minutes in on a nice spin move but the Royals tied the game on the next trip down the court. The first five minutes were slow for scoring, as both sides could not hit their shots. However, HIU took their first lead with 15:45 to go in the game and increased the gap to six with 14:24 to go.
Vanguard struggled with turnovers early on, giving up too many possessions. The home side was soon down 13-5 but a three from Garrett White (SR/Post Falls, ID) got the Pit buzzing again. But around the midway portion of the first half, the Royals put the pedal down and from 13-8, would stroll to a 7-2 run. A free throw from Andre Allen (SR/Los Angeles, CA) and a three from Phillip Willis (JR/San Diego, CA) cut the deficit to six with 5:22 at 20-14 to keep VU in striking distance. However, turnovers and not being able to box out allowed the Royals to go on another run, ending the half on a 13-5 streak to take a 33-19 advantage into the intermission.
VU shot 31.8% in the first half, while Hope International shot 50%.
Vanguard had good spells in the second half but would never get the lead to under 10 points. Moore made his last night in the Pit count, scoring seven points in the first six minutes of the second half. Allen had a big dunk later in the second and Dominic St. Leon (SR/McKinney, TX) would nail a three with 8:11 to go. But every time the Blue and Gold went on any small run, the Royals found a way to step up on defense and nail their shots. When the horn sounded, they had the final say in the story of the Pit with the 22-point win.
HIU shot 52.5% for the game and won the rebound battle 33-19. The Lions shot 40.9% from the field, 32% from deep, and were 70% from the line. Moore led all players with 21 points, adding in four rebounds as well. Willis had 12 points and no other Lion had more than five. Isaac Davis (SR/Valencia, CA) had eight assists and he tied Moore for the lead in rebounds for the team.
What was Said? "Credit Hope for a complete performance in every facet of the game," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "They had more purpose and more juice at both ends of the floor. It took us too long to figure out how to attack their defense and against a good team, you can't have 12 turnovers and 0 offensive rebounds in the first half. They showed tonight why they are one of the toughest teams in the country. The great thing for us is after all the challenges we've faced this year, whether it be injuries, COVID, whatever, we are 0-0 now just like everyone else and we have a great opportunity to make a push in the postseason. I'm excited for our first matchup against OUAZ."
What is Next? The GSAC Tournament will see the Lions play OUAZ on February 24 at noon at Hope International.
