SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Beginning its season with an elite NAIA Division I foe, the Corban University men's basketball team was unable to upend the Westmont Warriors on Monday evening, falling by a final score of 102-73.

"We ran into a buzz saw tonight," said head coach Mitch Freeman. "Westmont was quicker and faster than us in every phase of the game. This will be a great learning opportunity for us that I hope will make us better."

The hometown Warriors never trailed in the contest, shooting at a blistering 50.0% from the field (44.4% from three-point range) in the triumph. As a team, Corban ended the night going 28-for-65 (43.1%) from the floor, draining 6-of-19 three-pointers.

Westmont won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Navy and Gold 47-36—including a 15-8 advantage in offensive boards. Westmont took advantage of those opportunities, scoring 24 second-chance points on the evening.

Six members of Westmont's roster—Cade Roth (22 points), Justin Bessard (15 points), Gyse Huslebosch (13 points), Abram Carrasco (13 points), Tristan Lloyd (12 points), and Noah Fernando (10 points)—finished in double figures, with Roth leading the charge with his 22.

Tyler Wadleigh led the way for the Navy and Gold, scoring 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Making a strong first impression in his Warrior debut, Isiah Quintero finished the night with 12 points, going 5-of-8 from the field.

AJ Hodges (8 points) led the squad in rebounding, tallying eight in the defeat. His fellow All-Conference teammate, Beau Roggenbach (8 points), finished with seven.

The Warriors (0-1) will return to the court this weekend, opening their 2019-20 home regiment with a pair of weekend contests. On Friday, the Navy and Gold will host Thompson Rivers University at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center (8 p.m.) before taking on Camosun College at 3 p.m. on Saturday.