Klamath Falls, Ore. – The Warriors braved a long road trip to play in the Midland Empire Classic Basketball tournament held at the Oregon Institute of Technology this weekend, first facing off against Southern Oregon (5-1) on Friday. Jessup scrambled to recover after struggling from the field in the first half, but fell just short in the 98-92 loss.
The Warriors' men's basketball team (4-2) found themselves in a significant gap at halftime down 53-36 after shooting just 30% from the field in the first half. The team bounced back quickly in the second half; however, closing the gap to 10 with 15 minutes showing on the game clock. The two teams found themselves trading blows until it appeared Jessup was cornered against ropes with four minutes remaining and SOU showing their largest lead of the night 92-74.
Jessup decided they weren't done just yet. The Warriors assembled a beautiful 13-0 run to put themselves within 5 points with 1:28 remaining. The Raiders were able to grab a footing against the barrage though. Jessup was forced to stop the clock by fouling and the Raiders executed what every good team executes: end of game free throws. The Raiders would hit six of the free ones before the Warriors found the bucket again.
Jessup kept digging and found another five points before the final buzzer stopped play, but it the impressive effort would never quite put Jessup into the lead.
The Warriors scoring efforts were led by a breakout performance from junior guard Guillermo Nunez (Manteca, CA) who went 8-12 behind the 3-point arc and finished with a career-high 27 points to go along with five rebounds.
Senior Darius Clement (Las Vegas, NV) also made a heroic contribution to the Warriors posting a double-double consisting of 21 points and 12 rebounds, including 5 offensive boards. Clement would also be credited for four assists on the night. Point guard Darrell Polee (Sacramento, CA) would match Clement's four assists and find another 15 points for Jessup during the game.
Southern Oregon had four players reach double digits in scoring, but senior power forward Jordan West topped the team's box score with 29 points.
The Warriors face off against the tournament host Oregon Institute of Technology tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. Von Vogt and company will be looking to avenge a one point loss to OIT earlier this season on the Warrior's home court in the Bill Holtz Classic. This will be the final time that Jessup will have the opportunity to compete against hall of fame OIT head coach Danny Miles as he is set to retire at the conclusion of this season.
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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).
