Men's Basketball Robert Nilsen

Castro With 21 as Royals End Two Game Slide With Dominant Win Over Warriors

San Dimas, CA - The Hope International University men's basketball team (17-9, 10-7 GSAC) ended a two game slide with a dominant victory over the Life Pacific Warriors on Thursday night in San Dimas, CA.

The teams exchanged leads early on as a basket by Sebastian Castro put the Royals up 6-5. Castro then scored five straight points to help the Royals pull away to an 11-5 lead. The Warriors answered with a three to make it 11-8 but the Royals regrouped with a 17-0 run finished off by a Tristan Williams layup to take control with a lead of 28-8 with 8:45 to go. The Warriors fought back to get within 33-18 but the Royals closed the half on a 9-3 run led by eight points from Caleb Christopher as they took a 42-21 lead at halftime.

The Royals kept their momentum into the second half as Castro and Rasheet Wilson nailed back to back three pointers to increase the Royals lead to 48-21. The Warriors would answer to close back within 24 but the Royals kept scoring as they continued their hot shooting taking a 63-31 advantage off a Williams layup midway through the second half. Then with the score 65-35 the Royals went on a 9-0 run finished off by a Calen Murray layup as they took a 74-35 lead as they went on to win 79-44. With the win the Royals clinch a spot in the GSAC tournament with seeding to be determined. Castro led the Royals with 21 points.

The Royals wrap up regular season GSAC play at home as they take on Vanguard on Saturday, February 18 at 4:00 PM in the Darling Pavilion in Fullerton, CA.