COSTA MESA – Keshawn Bruner scored 24 points and Josiah De'la Cerda added 21 as visiting OUAZ posted a 79-65 win over Vanguard in Golden State Athletic Conference men's basketball action at Orange Coast College Thursday.

Bruner and De'la Cerda combined to shoot 17-of-28 from the field. Devin Collins chipped in 11 points. The Spirit shot 55.6 (30-of-54) percent as a team in improving to 11-4 overall and 3-3 in GSAC play.

Garrett White (SR/Post Falls, ID) led the Lions with a team-high 23 points – his third straight 20-point game and ninth of the season – hitting 9-of-12 floor shots and 4-of-4 from the foul line. He added a game-high eight rebounds in 23 minutes.

Isaac Davis (SR/Valencia, CA) had 13 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals, while Jackson Larsen (JR/El Cajon, CA) was the third Lion in double figures with 10 points.

The Lions shot 50.0 (14-of-28) percent in the first half, but cooled off in the second and finished at 44.6 (25-of-56) for the game.

OUAZ won the game on the inside, earning a 50-32 advantage in points in the paint. OUAZ also forced 16 VU turnovers, turning those into 14 points.

The Lions (8-6, 2-4 GSAC) owned a 33-26 rebounding advantage, including 11-6 on the offensive boards.

What Happened?: The Lions started out strongly, taking a 5-0 lead a minute into the game on a White layup and Davis three-pointer. VU maintained its five-point lead, 14-9, on another Davis triple at the 15:26 mark.

Bryson Metz (FR/Vancouver, WA) knocked down a jumper to put VU up 20-15, but back-to-back three-pointers by Kolten Hitt and a De'la Cerda layup polished off an 8-0 run, giving the Spirit a 23-20 lead.

Two Bruner free throws extended OUAZ's lead to 34-27 with 3:57 to play, but Phillip Willis (SR/San Diego, CA) was fouled on a three-point attempt on the next possession. The VU guard converted all three free throws to trim the deficit to 34-30.

VU eventually tied the game at 35-35 on a Pape Momar Cisse (SO/Dakar, Senegal) layup, but Hitt's third three-pointer of the half gave the Spirit a 38-35 halftime lead.

The Lions began the second stanza with back-to-back buckets from White to retake the lead at 39-38. Preston Sims (JR/Orange, CA) drained a three and White got inside for a layup as VU led for the final time, 44-42, with 15:37 remaining.

Davis evened the scoreline at 46-46 on a jumper, but the Spirit went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:15 to force a VU timeout.

The Lions went four minutes without a field goal, but still trailed by just six, 55-49, on Larsen's layup with 9:37 to go. But consecutive layups from Bruner pushed the OUAZ lead to 59-50 as VU burned another timeout.

The Lions managed to get within six as White's layup made it 61-55 just above the five-minute mark, but could not get any closer. A Collins layup extended the Spirit lead to 70-59 – their first double-digit advantage – but White scored four straight to get the Lions within seven.

OUAZ scored nine of the game's last 11 points, including seven from Bruner, to claim the 14-point victory.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions allowed their opponent to shoot at least 50 percent for the first time since Nov. 25 against Antelope Valley.

What Was Said?: "Ottawa has such a good group and they make you pay when mistakes are made," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes down the stretch in the last 10 minutes to beat a good team. There is no time to focus on what we didn't get done though. We have a quick turnaround with one of the top teams in the country in ACU. The Lions have to be better and I believe we will be."

What's Next?: The Lions will host No. 1 Arizona Christian on Saturday at Orange Coast College. Tip time is 2:00 p.m.