SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Vanguard's three-point appetite came at a cost in Saturday evening's loss, 79-62, against Westmont at the Murchison Gymnasium. Although the Lions hit a season-best 14 threes (14-35, 40%), they took 62.5% of their total field goals (19-56) from downtown, a limiting factor that eventually impacted the box score as the game progressed.

Westmont took advantage of VU's schematics to win the second half 52-32, as the Warriors prioritized getting downhill to boast dominant leads in points off turnovers (22-5),points in the paint (34-10), and bench points 25-10.

The Blue and Gold drop to 11-10, 7-8 in the Pacific West Conference. They've now lost three on the bounce for the first time in the 2025-26 campaign. Westmont moves to 13-9, and 10-6, now a game behind Concordia in fifth place.

Erik Howlin led all scorers with 24 points, four assists, and three steals. He shot 7-12 overall, 3-6 from three, and 7-7 from the charity stripe. Bryson Metz and Aibigho Ujadughele each hit three treys to finish with nine points, while Ujadughele, also had 11 rebounds.

Kailen Rains and Dylan Swillis were the last Lions to hit at least two three-pointers, finishing with eight and six points, respectively.

What Happened?
Vanguard shot 10-27 from the floor in the first half. Eight of the made field goals came from three (8-16).

It was back-to-back three points from Howlin to get the night going, with Westmont sinking their own three-point off a straightaway for a 6-3 score. Neither side scored for the next three minutes of gametime until VU sprayed out another pair of threes with one from Holwin and another from Tony Colley (12-3 VU).

With 12:44 left to go, Swillis joined in on the action, connecting from the wing another three-point basket, before Westmont responded from the other wing.

Having exhausted all his three-point makes of the night, Howlin went to the hole to convert on his first layup for a 17-9 Lion lead with 11:48 to play.

It was the first two-point basket between both teams, with the previous combined 24 points coming exclusively from three.

Swillis canned another trey out of the media timeout, but it was the last spell of VU dominance in the game, as Westmont shot out to an 8-2 run to earn their first lead, 23-22.

An 8-2 Lion response with another pair of three-point makes the bucket out of the well for VU, as they finished the half up by three (30-27).

Westmont shifted its focus to rim running and inside-out three-pointers in the second half. They only attempted five three-pointers (3-5) but were rewarded for their efforts to get to the cup with 19 free throw attempts, cashing in on 17 of them.

Rains ripped down an offensive rebound, and Pape Cisse collected the finish for the first points of the second half. Metz and Ujadughele were there to cash in on three more Lion trifectas to take the score to 41-29, Vanguard heading into the media timeout.

The last 15 minutes of gametime were a complete role reversal in scoring rhythm, as VU shot just 3-13 from three and coughed up seven giveaways that were converted into a 15-0 lead in points off turnovers.

A 21-3 Westmont run was born and bred in the paint, with only one three-pointer attempted and hit by the Warriors during the run.

The Lions' field goal drought lasted eight minutes of game time before Howlin had an answer, going to the cup. By then, the Lions were down by eight (56-48) and soon double-figures as a steal and a dunk by Westmont put the Mursch into a frenzy.

The Blue and Gold were only within single digits once in the final seven minutes of action and missed all seven of their last three-point tries in the eventual 17-point defeat.

What's Next? Vanguard looks to break the slump against Azusa Pacific on Thursday, February 12, at 7:30 p.m.