SILVER LININGS

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff men's basketball team fell 92–67 in an exhibition at Cal State LA on Thursday night, but fifth-year head coach Jerred Cook said the game offered valuable signs of growth for a new-look roster still taking shape.

"We lost the game but grew as a new team," Cook said. "I'm not a moral-victories type coach, but there is a silver lining that we can build upon."

After what Cook called "a timid first half," the Warriors trailed 45–20 at the break before coming out "as a different team" in the second half.

Westcliff outscored the Golden Eagles 47–47 after halftime and briefly led by seven midway through the period.

"I have to sometimes take a step back and understand it's a new team with not a lot of returners," Cook said. "We are still in the forming stages of what I want it to look like. The second half was more on-brand with the direction we should be heading."

The Warriors shot 50-percent from three (11-for-22) and finished with 17 assists against 13 turnovers.

D'Montay Warner led Westcliff with an efficient 20 points, while Michael Noulowe recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Cook said that while results matter, the bigger takeaway was progress toward the "Westcliff brand of basketball" he wants his players to embody.

"We didn't show up to compete or execute the game plan in the first half," he said. "But we came out the second half as a different team — and that's something we can build on."