ROCKLIN, Calif. – In what was expected to be a very physical matchup, the Warriors played host to an old rival Wednesday night in the form of the California Maritime Academy Keelhaulers. After a battle of a first half, Jessup kicked things into gear in the final twenty minutes as they earned a hard fought 81-65 victory.
Like most meetings between Jessup and Maritime, the game started out very even and very physical. Through the opening five-minutes, the two sides traded basket for basket and found themselves tied at 8-8.
It was shooting that got the Warriors' momentum going Wednesday. Unlike their last game at home, Jessup was able to find the basket at will, connecting on 48-percent of their shots from the field as well as an impressive 88.9-percent from the line in the first half. Senior Darrell Polee (Sacramento, CA) was the key contributor to the Warrior success, as he connected on three 3-pointers to rack in 17 first half points.
Jessup stole the lead away, late in the first half after a quick Keelhauler run. However, a 3-pointer at the buzzer capped off a 48-percent first half shooting performance for Maritime, sending them into the half up 36-35.
The shooting show really began in the second half, as the Warriors came out swinging to take a quick four-point lead. The Warriors then added to their totals as junior Guillermo Nunez (Manteca, CA) connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to double digits.
Inside the final 10-minutes, Jessup begin to take full control. Even as a number of Warriors began to enter foul trouble, the strong shooting from Nunez, Polee, and junior Kelton Newman (Elk Grove, CA) proved too much for the Keelhaulers to counter.
With the game well in check, Jessup emptied their bench as a sign that victory was near. Maritime could not put up a late fight, as Jessup improved to 3-1 on the season with the 81-65 victory.
"We judge ourselves on our own play," said head coach Lance Von Vogt postgame. "We met our goal tonight. We wanted to be 75-percent from the line, we got 76.7-percent. We wanted to be over 50-percent from the field and over 40-percent from three. All of our shooting goals, we hit."
Offensively, Polee had a career day as he finished 9-for-11 from the field and 5-for-6 from deep for a game high 29 points. Senior Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) added 12 points and 9 rebounds. Senior Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV) recorded 11 points and 8 rebounds, and Nunez finished with 8 points.
"Any time that you are a balanced team it makes you hard to defend," stated Von Vogt on his team's balanced attack. Jessup finished the night with 30 points in the paint, 24 points from 3-pointers, and 23 points from the free throw line. "If you're scoring from all over, you become a very difficult team to guard."
For California Maritime, Zach Davis proved to be a tough force to stop as he recorded 25 points and 8 rebounds while connecting on 60-percent of his shots. The Keelhaulers as a team shot 48.3-percent from the field.
"I see that we're laying bricks. You build a season brick-by-brick, and right now we're just in the foundation phase," said Von Vogt. "We need to get off to better starts in games. We need to be able to score more early into the game and not get off to sluggish starts. But it was a good win and we're just scratching the service of who we can be."
The season continues this weekend as the Warriors head up to Klamath Falls, Oregon to take part in the Midland Empire Classic. Jessup will take on Southern Oregon Friday, followed by a matchup against hosts Oregon Tech Saturday evening.
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William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook), @WJUSports (Twitter), and @JessupAthletics (Instagram, and Snapchat).
