COSTA MESA – One of the all-time classics in the storied rivalry between Vanguard and Westmont ultimately did not go the way of the Lions, as the men's basketball team lost an agonizing 96-90 overtime battle on Thursday evening at Orange Coast College.

The Lions held leads early in each half, but the Warriors kept battling and eventually overtook the Blue and Gold at the end. VU led by 11 early in the first half and by eight in the opening minutes of the second stanza, but the final 20 minutes of regulation featured eight ties and seven lead changes in an offensive slugfest.

Westmont (14-10, 7-8) factored heavily at the free throw line, shooting 88.5 (23 of 26) percent for the game. The Lions excelled at the charity stripe as well as they connected at a 81.8 (18 of 22) percent clip.

But ultimately the Warriors hit shots at a torrid pace. They shot 72.0 (18 of 25) percent in the second half and 4 of 6 in overtime. The Lions shot 50 percent for the game.

Seven Westmont players finished in double figures, led by Tone Patton's 17 points. Cly Griffith scored 16 to lead the Warrior bench effort.

Westmont's bench outscored Vanguard's 28-9 and the Warriors held a sizable 52-32 edge in points in the paint.

Vanguard (12-11, 6-9 GSAC) got a game-high 24 points from Garrett White (SR/Post Falls, ID), who recently surpassed 1,000 points for his career. The forward shot 9 of 14 from the field and added six rebounds.

Phillip Willis (SR/San Diego, CA) had a great all-around game with 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He hit a pair of threes to go along with five rebounds, two assists, a block and three steals while playing a team-high 41 minutes.

Jackson Larsen (JR/El Cajon, CA) contributed 17 points and Isaac Davis (SR/Valencia, CA) added 15, chipping in four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

What Happened?: The Lions opened the second half with a White layup to lead 39-31, but the Warriors answered with seven straight points to close the gap to one.

The score remained within four points the remainder of the half as neither team could pull away.

Larsen's dunk with 11:09 to play gave VU a 55-52 lead, but Westmont answered with a 7-0 run to go up by three – aided by consecutive layups from Patton and a traditional three-point play by Amir Davis.

White drained a triple with 7:32 remaining to wrest the lead back at 60-59, but two Patton free throws put Westmont back up by one.

White scored 10 of VU's 13 points during one stretch – and his layup tied the score at 68-68 with 5:04 to go.

Jalen Townsell, who was 4 of 4 from the floor in the second half, cashed in a three to give Westmont a 75-72 edge with three and a half minutes left. But two White buckets allowed VU to retake the lead again, 76-75.

The Warriors replied with four straight points – via a Patton layup and two Cade Roth free throws – going up 79-76. Willis hit a clutch jumper to bring VU within one, and Patton hit 1 of 2 free throws for an 80-78 Westmont lead.

Larsen sank two free throws with 32 seconds left to tie the score, and the Warriors missed a potential game-winning attempt as the two teams faced overtime.

VU looked to be in good shape early on in extra minutes as Davis canned a three, giving the Blue and Gold an 85-82 lead. But the Warriors escaped VU's grasp again, eventually tying the score at 86-86 on Anthony McIntyre's tip-in.

McIntyre scored eight crucial points over the last two-plus minutes to will Westmont to the win. The Warriors hit their last eight free throws – and two Drew Ramirez freebies put them up 94-88 with just 16 seconds remaining.

Vanguard came out firing and hit seven of its first 12 shots to stake claim to a 15-4 lead five minutes into the game. The Lions maintained their double-digit lead at 21-10 on two Davis free throws at the 8:49 mark.

VU led 37-28 on a White layup, but Roth was fouled taking a three-pointer and hit all three free throws to close Westmont's deficit to six at the half.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions missed out an opportunity to pull into a tie for sixth with Menlo in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings, but instead stare at a one-game deficit. Menlo and Westmont are tied for sixth with 7-8 conference records, while the Lions are 6-9. The top six teams make the GSAC Tournament. VU is still alive with three games to play.

What Was Said?: "I'm proud of the way our guys kept battling," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "We played hard as a group, but we just had too many defensive mistakes and critical turnovers, including 10 in the second half, to win a big game like that. Hard to give up 56 percent from the field this time of year and win. We had several opportunities at the end of both the first half and second half to close the game out well and we didn't do it. Credit Westmont for playing a great game. We are still in the fight and will be ready to go for the next one."

What's Next?: Vanguard will honor White, Davis and Kody Knox (SR/Porter Ranch, CA) for Senior Day on Saturday at Orange Coast College. The Lions will host The Master's at 7:30 p.m. Arrive early to watch the ceremony, which will take place before the game.