COSTA MESA  -- Senior night for Vanguard men's basketball celebrated five seniors and the lineup provided more fireworks the rest of the evening, as the Lions topped Life Pacific 105-77.  Phillip Willis paced Vanguard with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and Anthony Tello and Preston Sims each netted 15.  Seniors Mitchell Prevost and Jadyn Johnson posted 15 and four points respectively.  The Lions improve to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in the Golden State Athletic Conference, while LPU falls to 7-14, 0-12.
 
What Happened?  Before the game got going, the five seniors were presented at center court to a glowing reception.  Nico Dasca joined Johnson, Prevost, Sims, and Willis to receive recognition for all the work they have put into the VU program.  After that, the Lions would trail for only two minutes the entire night.
 
Both teams launched over 60 shots during the contest, as the sides reveled in the offensive flow that the game provided.  Life Pacific started the night with two triples, but Willis splashed down his own three and two layups for Tello put the Blue and Gold ahead 7-6, and the Lions would be in the driver's seat the rest of the evening.
 
Sims connected for a three to put the edge at 10-6 and five straight points for Willis put the VU lead at 15-8.  Ahead 21-10, the Lions saw LPU cut the advantage to 23-15 and took and timeout.  The scoring slowed for a short spell but soon ramped up again at the midway mark of the half.  Pape Cisse and Jackson Larsen banked shots in from close and Robert Aguirre Jr. buried a three to put the lead at 33-17. 
 
Vanguard pushed the lead to 21 points with 5:17 to go in the third as Tello connected on a shot from downtown, and Willis would add in another triple two minutes later.  The end of the half drew near but the Lions struggled to get their man open for the final shot.  The ball ended up in the hands of Cisse, and undeterred by the range, he let fly a beautiful shot from three-point range and he burried the shot for his first-ever collegiate triple.
 
Vanguard led 60-36 at the break and shot 67.6% from the field in the first half, including a blistering 75% (9-12) mark from downtown.  LPU shot 43.3% and made 41.2% (7-17) of shots taken from beyond the arc.
 
The second half saw both sides exchange points almost equally, but that did not stop the fun for the Lions.  After a layup from Tello got the second frame going, the four playing seniors took over.   Prevost and then Sims followed Tello's example and made buckets from in the paint.  Johnson had had a couple of layups roll out on him in the first half, but he pocketed his first of the night at the 16:21 mark to a rousing ovation, giving each senior that played at least one basket.  Willis completed the train of scoring seniors, as he scored the next basket with 14:47 to go to increase the advantage to 70-44. 
 
Credit must be given to LPU's Austin Cook, who led the field with 30 points on the night, as she shot 10-of-14 from the field, including six triples, some from well beyond the arc.  But despite his effort, LPU would trail by almost 30 points for the entire second half. 

Johnson got another layup with 8:42 to go and then VU put on a little ritz to the proceedings.  Tello made a steal and spotted Sims running the other way and the guard made a brilliant pass that travelled just over half of the court to get to the forward.  Sims took it in stride and slammed it home to bring the crowd to their feet.  Almost two minutes later, the play repeated, with Willis getting a defensive rebound before zipping it to Sims for the emphatic flush.
 
The seniors slowly came off one by one to loud applause.  The final senior to score was Prevost, who tipped in a missed free throw to put VU over 100 points in the contest. Ethan Hanning made the final four points of the night to give the Lions a 105-77 victory.
 
Shooting 70.4% in the second half, the Blue and Gold concluded the game at a 68.8% mark from the floor (44-64) and a 57.9% rate from deep (11-19).  LPU shot 44.3% from the floor and 38.2% from beyond the arc.  Vanguard held a 34-25 lead in rebounds, a 54-24 lead in points in the paint, and had five fewer turnovers than the Warriors.
 
Larsen had 10 points and four rebounds for VU, with Tello leading the way with six boards and five assists.  Aguirre Jr. made 3-of-5 shots from downtown for nine points.
 
 
Why is it Important?  The Lions have won the past three against LPU and are 25-3 against the Warriors all-time.  There is still a path into the GSAC Tournament for the Lions, as they trail Menlo by two games with two to go..
 
What was Said?  "I'm proud of the way our guys bounced back this week after a ton of adversity, losing some close games and sustaining unfortunate injuries," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday.  "The best thing about this team is that they are really for each other each time they compete.  I'm really excited for this upcoming trip and the opportunity to finish what we started."
 
What's Next?  VU will look to avenge an overtime loss to OUAZ on Thursday, February 22, at 6:30 p.m. in Surprise, Arizona.