SANTA BARBARA, CA - Preston Branson's 40-point performance carried the day in the final of the Tom Byron Classic as he led the host Westmont Warriors to an 87-84 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in the championship game of the four team tournament.
Branson was 12-of-21 from the floor and 15-of-18 from the line as the Warriors led from start to finish. The tournament hosts were leading by as many as 18 midway through the first half before the T-Birds closed the gap to single digits for most of the second half.
An 11-4 run late in the second by the 'Birds got UBC to within a basket of Westmont and a pair of
Kamar Burke blocks over the final 30 seconds kept the deficit at three, however, an
Alex Murphy three-pointer with just seconds remaining bounced off the rim and stayed out as the Vikings held on for the win.
Josh Whyte led the 'Birds with 15 points and was one of four T-Birds to hit double figures. Fellow starters
Melvyn Mayott and Murphy had 14 points apiece with
Nathan Yu adding 11 off the bench. UBC shot 44.1% from the field but were an impressive 24-of-28 (85.7%) from the free throw line.
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