Westcliff University men’s basketball team suffered a 77-53 loss to Montana Tech on November 6, 2026, at the Best Western Tipoff Classic. The defeat put Westcliff at 0-2 on the season, while Montana Tech advanced to 3-0.
The Warriors remained competitive in the first half, trailing 28-21, but Montana Tech outscored them 49-32 in the second half. Westcliff shot 32.7 percent from the field compared to Montana Tech’s 50.9 percent and was outrebounded 46-24, including a 14-to-8 disadvantage on offensive rebounds.
Aaron Gillyard led Westcliff with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, playing 19 minutes off the bench. Head coach Jerred Cook pointed to the team’s need for greater consistency and discipline, particularly in executing the game plan throughout the entire contest.
“The really good teams are disciplined, and they will continue to do the same thing over and over and over and over again,” Cook said. He cited the second half as a time when Westcliff lost focus on its game plan, which contributed to the widened margin.
Cook also highlighted the significant rebounding disparity as a difficult obstacle, stating, “I don’t care who you are. It’ll always be hard to win a game when you’re being outrebounded to the level that we had.” Despite recognizing areas of team growth, Cook maintained high expectations: “I think we did grow tonight, but I’m not a moral victories coach. I’m not satisfied. We definitely want to be at our best in November. We’re nowhere near that. But we are moving in the right direction.”
Westcliff will look to apply these lessons in their next game against Montana Western at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
CSB Take
Westcliff University men’s basketball is in the early stages of building a consistent and disciplined program. The loss to a strong Montana Tech side exposed areas such as rebounding and adherence to the game plan where the Warriors need significant improvement. While individual performances like Aaron Gillyard’s provide optimism, the coaching staff’s focus on consistency marks a sensible approach to long-term progress. Upcoming games will test the team’s ability to internalize these lessons and reduce costly mistakes that can swing momentum against them.
Source: Original report
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