MBB goes 2-0 in Philadelphia

PHILADEPHIA, Penn. - Great Lakes Christian College Men's Basketball team traveled to Philadelphia for a weekend series against two NCAA Division 3 opponents. The opponents were familiar to Coach Westerlund as he went to college with the head coach of Cairn University Jason O'Connell and the head coach for Bryn Athyn College is his twin brother Sean Westerlund.

MBB vs Cairn University 72-67 win

MBB took on Cairn University Friday evening. Cairn (5-4) controlled momentum early in the contest, jetting out to an eight-point lead (its largest of the game) midway through the first half (20-12). Great Lakes trimmed the deficit to six (29-23) with just under three minutes to play in the half, before going on a 10-2 run to close out the frame, and took a narrow 33-31 lead into intermission. The Crusaders came out of the gates in the second half firing on all cylinders, striking a 13-3 run to start the half to take its largest lead of the contest at 46-34 at the 16:51 mark. Cairn chipped away at the deficit throughout the second half, and did not let Great Lakes' lead rise to double digits for the rest of the bout. Cairn got the lead down to three multiple times near the end regulation, and trailed by four (71-67) with 18 seconds remaining and possession. The Highlanders dialed up a good look from long range, trying to cut the lead to one, but the attempt drew iron and sealed the win for the Crusaders. The Crusaders struggled from the free throw line shooting just 50% in the win.
 
Great Lakes shot 43.1% (28-65) from the floor in the bout compared to a 41.5% (22-53) mark for Cairn. The Highlanders dominated the glass to a 48-33 advantage, including 13 offensive rebounds. Great Lakes won the bout in the turnover department, utilizing their signature press to force 26 Highlander turnovers compared to 10 of their own for a +16 turnover margin, and scored 26 points off of those Highlander miscues.

MBB vs Bryn Athyn 82-73 win

The game opened with a constant back-and-forth between the Westerlund brothers' teams. Great Lakes built a 12-point lead midway through the first half thanks to some great zone offense and press defense. The Crusaders remained in the driver's seat for the rest of the period, going into halftime up 42-33 on the Lions. Bryn Athyn clawed back with its own press and crafty foul-drawing to make it a 2-point game early in the 2nd half. The Crusaders won the game with their bench play of Titus Lawrence, Jayland Winters, Rondell Clark, NaQuan Williams-Day, and Dominic Williams.

GLCC shot very well from three going 16/39 from three, and the Crusaders won the turnover battle 21-12 with a +9 advantage in the turnover department. The Crusaders finish the semester 5-7 after a grueling schedule that featured just three home games.

What Coach Says:

"I am very pleased with how the weekend went. We came out here with the intention of getting better and I believe we did. Both Cairn and Bryn Athyn presented unique challenges to us to help prepare us for different opponents we could see down the road. The ability to get the results we were looking for was definitely a positive. We love heading into the break with some momentum. I believe our first semester schedule has prepared us well. We are getting healthy and have our roster at full strength now so it is fun to see what this group will continue to do as we head into the break."