COLLEGE ROUNDUP : SCC Hangs On to Beat Westmont

The Southern California College men’s basketball team survived a first-half drought and a late rally to defeat Westmont, 96-89, Saturday at SCC to move alone into first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Rick Witmer and Edmond Johnson each scored 19 points and Mike Henjum added 17 for the Vanguards (20-6, 7-2 in the GSAC), who have a one-game lead over Westmont (15-10, 6-3) with three conference games remaining. The conference champion will likely be seeded second in the NAIA District 3 tournament.

After leading by six at the half, SCC built a cushion that grew to 16 points when Mike Henjum made a fast-break layup with 7 minutes 14 seconds remaining. But the Vanguards then went into a semi-delay game, and Westmont chipped away at the lead.

Chris Brown made three-point shots on consecutive trips down the floor to bring Westmont to within four, 91-87, with 52 seconds left, but the Warriors weren’t able to get any closer.

Early in the game, the Vanguards trailed by as many as 15 points. SCC committed turnovers in five consecutive possessions, setting up a 15-0 Westmont run. After Henjum made a three-pointer at the 19:16 mark, the Vanguards went scoreless for the next 3:07 and trailed 17-3.

SCC recovered, however, thanks to the play of Witmer, who scored 16 of his points in the first half, and a 9-0 run that gave the Vanguards a 31-30 lead with 6:15 left. Witmer scored the final five points of the half--on a long three-pointer and a layup after picking up a loose ball, the last of Westmont’s 17 first-half turnovers.