Westmont knocks off Timothy

Westmont and Timothy Christian looked like they were going to be involved in a shootout after one quarter as the Sentinels led 21-16.

That couldn't have been any further from the truth for Timothy Christian. The Trojans cooled off tremendously during the second and third quarters as host Westmont went on to win Tuesday's nonconference game 58-42.

During the middle two quarters the Westmont Sentinels (6-3) held Timothy Christian to 3-of-21 shooting from the floor and 8 points.

"It was pretty good defense on our part," Westmont coach Craig Etheridge said. "We were fortunate they missed some shots during that stretch. We actually got kind of lucky, but we did work very hard on the defensive end so I am very pleased."

During those middle two quarters the Sentinels went on a 22-4 run that really blew the game open for Westmont. The duo of Tyler Pierce and Matt Kardynalski combined to score 14 of the 22 points.

"They really are a pretty nice tandem to have on a team," Etheridge said. "When one has a bad night the other one really steps up and picks up the slack. Tonight they both played very well and they both stepped up."

Things got a little interesting in the fourth quarter. The Sentinels led 55-35 when in a three-possession span Timothy Christian's Andrew Logan hit three 3-pointers, including one 5 feet behind the arc and with a hand in his face, to cut the deficit to 14 points with just more than two minutes to play, prompting a Westmont timeout.

After Timothy Christian (6-7) slumped shooting the ball in the middle two quarters, Trojans coach Jeff Powers thought something like that might have happened.

"That has been our problem all year long," Powers said. "We go cold for a while and then we hit a bunch of shots in a row. It didn't really impact the game in the fourth. But when we shoot well and turn the ball over, it makes it tough to win."

Pierce and Kardynalski both scored 18 points in the win. Pierce had 13 points in the first half and Kardynalski had 14 in the second half.

"We work on stepping up for each other," Pierce said. "His first half was a little slow, but I tried to pick it up for him. He did the same thing for me in the second half. We feed off of each other."

Logan scored a team-high 12 points for Timothy Christian. Peter Tameling came off the bench to grab a game-high 12 rebounds with 7 points.