NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Vanguard men's basketball played Hope International on Saturday night for the final time in Golden State Athletic Conference regular season action.  The Lions rallied after a slow first half to tie the matchup early in the second frame, which resulted in a seesaw battle the rest of the way.  The game was tied 17 times and the lead swapped hands on 13 occasions, a majority of which came in the second period. 

But some late free throw misses by the Lions (9-for-14 in the game) and Hope having an advantage at the stripe (19-for-23), helped the Royals to eek out a 75-70 overtime victory.  Vanguard falls to 13-9 overall and 3-6 in GSAC action, while the Royals go to 16-7 overall and 5-4 in the GSAC. 
 
What Happened? Anthony Tello started off hot for the Blue and Gold, as he knocked down his first two attempts of the night in the first minute to put VU ahead 2-0 and then 4-3.  No baskets were scored over the next two minutes, but after another HIU triple, Jackson Larsen tipped in a missed jumper from Tello to knot things at 6-6.  Preston Sims then buried the first Vanguard three for game to put the Lions up 9-8, but that would be the last time the squad would lead in the opening half.
 
The Royals bounced away on a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to grab a 20-11 advantage.  HIU extended that margin to 31-18 with 5:11 left in the half, but the Blue and Gold started to chip away from there.  A Tello layup with 2:29 left on the board was quickly followed by another triple for Sims to cut the gap to 35-28.  Two free throws for Tello with 52 seconds to go were the last points scored in the period, as Hope took a 35-30 lead into halftime.
 
The Lions shot 50% from the field in the first half and went 4-of-9 (44.4%) from deep in the first half.  HIU shot 42.4% from the floor and went 4-for-11 (36.4%) from downtown.  HIU held a 16-14 edge in rebounds in the opening period and a bruising 7-1 lead in offensive boards. 
 
The Lions forced two turnovers to open the new half and they eventually cashed in the first basket of the frame via a three by Phillip Willis to bring the gap down to two points.  Just 90 seconds later, Tello dropped in a jumper to tie things at 35-35 to get the home crowd to their feet.   The defense stopped HIU and on the next trip down the court, a three by Willis swung the lead back in favor of VU for the first time in nearly 18 minutes of game action.  The Royals ended the 13-0 streak the Lions had accumulated with a pair of free throws at the 15:53 mark, and after that, the two sides would not find any separation.  The lead flipped every couple of minutes and neither side led by more than three points for the rest of regulation.
 
The contest was tied at 56-56 with five minutes to go and though Hope drilled a three to take a lead, Willis drained one himself in response at the other end to level things again.  The two sides exchanged layups and things remained all square until Tello snuck through the Royal defense for a layup with 54 seconds to go to put the Lions up 63-61. 

The Royals took a timeout and as they ran through their set, a foul was called and Grant Sii made both free throws.  VU called a timeout after cross midcourt aand drew up a scheme that ran through Tello.  He rewarded the call by sinking a jumper with seven ticks left to give the Lions a 65-63 lead.  After a Hope timeout, the Royals ran their final play, but VU got called for another foul, with Sii making both shots again to send things to overtime tied at 65.
 
No one scored in the first minute of OT but Tello made a free throw to put the Blue and Gold ahead initially with 4:48 remaining.  But the Royals remainde unphased at the stripe, as two more free throw conversions put HIU ahead 67-66.  Mitchell Prevost got fouled at the other end and he made one of his two free throws to knot things at 67-67.  The Royals then went on a 4-1 run to take a 71-68 lead with 57 seconds left, but a layup by Larsen with 31 ticks remaining cut the gap to 71-70.  Vanguard had to play the foul game, but HIU ended up going 6-6 from the line in OT.  A three from Bryson Metz with 14 seconds to go fell short, as did Sim's attempt with five seconds left.  The Royals held onto the rebound to take a 75-70 overtime decision.
 
Vanguard shot 46.4% from the floor in the game and went 9-for-21 from downtown (42.9%).  HIU shot 41% from the field and went 6-of-22 (27.3%) from deep.  The Lions won the total rebound battle 36-33 and turned up the offensive glass pressure after halftime.  Though losing the overall tally 12-10, VU had a 9-5 edge through the second frame and OT.

Tello had 18 points to lead the Lions and tied with Larsen and Prevost for a team-high seven rebounds.  Larsen had 12 points and Willis and Sims each had 11, with each of those two making three triples on the night.  Robert Aguirre Jr. made two shots from downtown on four attempts to end with six points.
 
Why is it Important?  The Lions are now 58-24 against HIU all-time and will need to make up ground on the road the rest of the season.  VU will play four of its next five games away from Costa Mesa and are two games out of the final playoff spot for the GSAC Tournament, chasing Hope (5-4) and Menlo (4-5).
 
 
What's Next?  The Blue and Gold start the Northern California swing by taking on the Menlo College Oaks on Thursday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m.