COSTA MESA – Making his Blue and Gold debut, Anthony Tello scored a game-high 17 points in a season-opening 103-59 victory over Cal Tech for the Vanguard men's basketball team on Saturday at Orange Coast College.
The junior transfer from Citrus College made 8-of-10 floor shots and added three rebounds, two assists and three steals in just 18 reserve minutes.
The Lions, which got 61 points from their bench, saw guard Phillip Willis contribute 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals in a productive 21 minutes. He hit 5-of-12 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.
Three other Lions finished in double figures as starters Micah Swartz and Nico Dasca had 10 points apiece. The duo combined to shoot 8-of-11 overall with each guard burying two treys. Cam'Ron Wilson also notched 11 points and hit three triples in his VU debut.
VU's starting lineup combined to shoot 66.7 (18-of-27) percent from the floor and the entire team concluded the evening at 55.8 (43-of-77) percent. Thirteen of the 16 Lions which saw action got into the scoring column.
The Lion defense was equally as prolific, forcing 26 Beaver turnovers which led to 33 points. VU had 22 steals, with Bryson Metz, Preston Sims, Swartz, Tello and Willis all registering three apiece.
Cal Tech fell to 0-2. Noah Hicks led the Beavers with 15 points while Ryan Hu tossed in 14 off the bench.
What Happened?: The Lions pressed out of the gate and forced two early turnovers, leading to a 6-0 lead just 38 seconds into the game.
Hicks hit a three to get the Beavers on the board, and consecutive triples by Leo Williams reduced the deficit to 11-9 with 16:05 left in the first half. Hu made the score 11-11 on a jumper at the 14:41 mark, and from there the Lions dominated.
VU proceeded to go on a 21-0 run over the next four minutes as Wilson nailed a couple of triples and Robert Aguirre Jr. bookending the surge with a three of his own.
With a 32-11 advantage, the lead never dipped below 20 the remainder of the game.
The Lions went on a 12-0 blitz to increase their lead to 53-17 with 1:29 to go, and settled for the 54-22 edge at halftime. Wilson scored all 11 of his points in the first half and the Lions shot 56.1 (23-of-41) percent from the field.
VU began the second half holding Cal Tech without a field goal for nearly five minutes, building the advantage to 67-26 as Dasca drained back-to-back threes, followed by triples from Tello and Willis.
The Blue and Gold made nine second half threes, shooting 45.0 (9-of-20) from distance.
After emptying the bench, the Lions built their biggest lead of 49 points when Aguirre Jr. hit one of his three treys with 3:38 remaining. Kobe Nunes and Ethan Hanning scored their first points as Lions in the waning moments as VU hit the 100-point mark with 34 seconds left.
Why Is It Important?: The 103 points is the most in a season opener for the Lions since a 103-72 victory over La Sierra on Nov. 2, 2019.
What Was Said?: "It was fun to kick off this season the right way," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "The guys were really focused and competed at both ends of the court pretty consistently. Additionally, the way we defended and rebounded allowed for a lot of guys to get the ball up ahead in transition to make plays for each other.
"We made 14 threes in large part because we committed to getting the ball to the paint with the pass and the drive. I'm excited for an absolute gauntlet coming up, starting with Boise State. Our schedule will test us in every way and I'm excited to see the character of this group come through."
What's Next?: Vanguard travels to NCAA Division I member Boise State for an exhibition on Tuesday, November 7 at 6:00 p.m.
