COSTA MESA – A true team victory saw 16 total Lions enter the contest, as Vanguard (2-1) was able to grab their second win of the season over the Elks of Stanton University (1-7) by a count of 80-53.
Of the 16 who saw the court, 13 VU players put their mark in the scoring column, with Erik Howlin once again leading Vanguard, this time with 13 points. He was followed by Dylan Swillis (11pts, 5-11 FG) as the only players in double figures, with no Lions playing more than 20 minutes.
Vanguard went with their third different starting lineup in as many games to start this season, as this time it was Carson Frawley (2nd start of career) replacing the injured Kailen Rains in the open, while Aibigho Ujadughele swapped with Tony Colley from the last outing.
The Lions had 24 assists on their 31 field goals, which surpasses the 16 total helpers they had in their first two games combined. Vanguard was able to win by 27 despite struggling from downtown again, going 8-30 in that regard.
Three Elks scored in double figures, led by Rafael Gomez's 15 (6-9 FG, 1-1 3PT). The Lions forced 17 turnovers of the team who recently joined the NAIA.
What Happened?:
The game was much different than the last (and only other) time the two teams squared off back in the 2023-24 season, which Vanguard won 114-62.
This Tuesday evening? Stanton was clearly the hungrier team out of the gates, spearheaded by Nigel McKay who, heading into the night, had never lost to Vanguard going back to his days at Jessup. However, Carson Frawley hit from deep to kick the tires on the Vanguard attack.
After a milestone bucket for Alex Stewart upon his entry, a Devin Carson splash from distance forced the Elks to burn a timeout with Vanguard up 18-8 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. Vanguard continued to slowly grow their lead over the next five minutes, getting it to as big as 18 thanks to a combo of Bryson Metz and Robert Aguirre Jr., that led to the latter sniper drilling from downtown.
But still, the Elks whirlwind motion on offense kept Vanguard from fully breaking it open before the half, as it stood at 39-22 after the first 20 minutes with a feeling of uneasiness hanging over the arena.
The second-half saw Vanguard come out with a different level of punch, as Erik Howlin had a pair of thunderous slams to give Vanguard all the momentum, forcing a timeout within the first 100 seconds. From there, Vanguard methodically ballooned the lead to as much as 35 before Coach Rhett Soliday called off the dogs at the under-eight media timeout.
At that point, a combination of young players helped the home-side maintain their sizable lead, and cruise easily to the 27-point victory.
In that combo of young talent, several Lions got not only their first collegiate action, but bucket as well. The two redshirts from last season in Alex Stewart and Arshawn Salkhi were among that fray. The former had the third-highest mark on the team with 9 points on four-of-five from the field, while sharpshooter Salkhi notched a triple for his first bucket late in the contest, which brought the raucous student-section to a thunder. Luke Jacobson, who transferred after redshirting at Marquette, added a three with under a minute to go for his first career points.
Of note: Colton Wells made his collegiate debut, while Aiden Gentry made his season debut.
The 23 first-half points that Vanguard allowed was their fewest since last season against Nobel on December 17 when they allowed 27.
Vanguard shot 10-13 from the charity-stripe, a considerable improvement from their 7-17 effort against #12 CSUDH on Saturday.
What Was Said?: " Coming off a tough loss, I like the way the guys bounced back on a quick turnaround," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. " Any time we can get all the guys in the game that is a fun and life-giving day for the team. We have plenty of things we need to continue to get better at, and there are nothing but difficult games left on the schedule, starting with SF State this Saturday. We have to keep working to get better at both ends of the floor, but our guys are up for the challenge."
What's Next?: The Lions finally hit the road, heading up to San Francisco State on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. tilt with the Gators. The Lions won last year's matchup in the Freed, 84-60.
