Hot Westmont Beats St. Xavier

Ken Knabke scored 12 points and Joe Ortiz and Brian Gomes each added 11 as 13th-seeded Westmont defeated St. Xavier of Chicago, 76-61, on Wednesday in the first round of the NAIA men’s tournament in Tulsa, Okla.

The Warriors (27-5) never trailed and led by as many as 29 points in the second half.

Westmont next will play defending champion Georgetown (Ky.) in today’s second round.

St. Xavier (26-10) went scoreless during a 5 minute 31 second stretch as Westmont built a 26-point advantage. The Warriors led 46-23 at halftime.

St. Xavier was led by Cory Cooper and Matt Zelenc, who each scored 12 points. But the Cougars managed to shoot just 32% from the field, 23% from three-point range, and never threatened the lead.

In the first half, Westmont shot 68% from the field (19 of 28) and 71% (five of seven) from three-point range.

Azusa Pacific 75, Edward Waters (Fla.) 67--The Cougar defense held the Tigers to 40% shooting and forced 22 turnovers to complete the GSAC first-round sweep. Edward Waters (24-9), trailing, 31-27, at halftime, pulled to within one with 5:34 to play before a 9-1 run by No. 7-seeded Azusa (27-5).

The Master’s 84, Georgia Southwestern 75--The Mustangs (22-12) used a 26-10 run to take a 30-14 lead in the first half, and The Master’s shot 62.3% from the field compared with 41.4% by the No. 5-seeded Hurricanes (30-4).

NCAA DIVISION II

Cal State San Bernardino held Florida Southern (28-7) to only 32.8% shooting, but surrendered 23 offensive rebounds and lost, 84-69, in the Division II men’s quarterfinals at Louisville. The Coyotes (23-8) were outrebounded, 53-32, committed 12 turnovers.