BLOCK PARTY

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff men's basketball team hung with La Sierra for most of the night but couldn't find an answer for 7-foot-3 center Jasper Reinalda, whose perfect shooting powered the Golden Eagles to an 84-76 win Friday at Golden West College.

Reinalda finished 13-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 at the line for 29 points and 12 rebounds, anchoring a La Sierra offense that shot 68 percent overall and 45 percent from three.

 The Warriors actually took 22 more shots (69-47), forced eight more turnovers (18-10), and had 16 assists to the Eagles' 13, but could never overcome the efficiency gap.

Bench production kept Westcliff within reach.

Eric Clark came off the bench with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in 22 minutes.

Micaiah Hankins hit 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep for 15 points, while D'Montay Warner added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and Michael Noulowe scored 10 in limited minutes.

Westcliff trailed 44-42 at halftime after trading leads throughout a crisp, high-tempo opening frame.

La Sierra's second-unit guard Stephen Perry delivered the difference in the second half, scoring 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting with a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe. His scoring flurry midway through the half pushed the margin to double digits and forced the Warriors to chase.

Despite generating 15 offensive boards and out-rebounding the visitors 29-30, the Warriors' 42-percent team shooting and 9-for-24 mark from three couldn't keep pace with La Sierra's surgical execution in the paint.

Head coach Jerred Cook said the game came down to discipline.

"First off, I've got to give credit to Coach Ethan. He's been building his roster and one of his best groups that he's been able to get. They came out and punched us in the mouth early," Cook said. "We got almost 20 more shots and forced turnovers, but it came down to IQ, execution, and putting the ball in the basket. They shot 65 percent — that's unacceptable — and it kept us from getting out in transition or playing our pace.

"Their big did his job tonight. He went 13 for 13. We've got to bring more resistance."

Cook said his team will need to lock in quickly with another major test on deck.

"We haven't put together a full half yet, and that's on me as a coach," he said. "We'll go back to the drawing board — quick turnaround tomorrow at No. 8 Point Loma. They'll be ready for us after what happened last year, and I'm excited to see how we respond."

The Warriors (1-1) travel south to face the eighth-ranked Sea Lions in San Diego on Saturday afternoon.