ROCKLIN, Calif. – Taking the next step in the season, the Warriors (6-3, 1-0 GSAC) played host to The Master's College Mustangs (4-4, 1-1 GSAC) on Saturday for Jessup's 2015-16 GSAC season. Hoping to improve from their first season in their tough conference, the Warriors certainly helped their effort as they knocked off the Mustangs 71-62 to move to 1-0 in conference play.
The Warriors got off to a fast start Saturday, as they pushed the ball down into the paint to convert on baskets by seniors Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) and Desmond Floyd (Gilbert, AZ). The success Jessup was getting in the paint would ultimately open up the outside for seniors Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV) and Cody Wilcox (Grass Valley, CA) to connect from three-point-range. Through the first 10-minutes the Warriors sat comfortably with a double-digit lead.
Jessup saw their electrifying offense reach new heights when Clement lobbed a perfect pass to junior Micheal Patterson (Amarillo, TX) for a beautiful alley-oop. The Warriors seemed to be hitting on all cylinders Saturday, as their defense even stepped up in the first half thanks to big blocks from both Floyd and junior Guillermo Nunez (Manteca, CA).
Aided by an 11-2 run in the final five-minutes of the first half, the Warriors were able to push their lead to over 20-points for the first time Saturday. Jessup shot 55.6-percent (15-for-27) from the field in the first half, compared to just a 25-percent (7-for-28) showing by the Mustangs, as the Warriors entered the break leading 42-20.
I think everything was pretty much working," stated head coach Von Vogt on his team's first half performance. "We played our best defensive half, and I think that's where we got things started. But we executed offensively, we made the extra pass, and we shot a very high percentage because we got the shots we wanted.
The Mustangs finally began to show some signs of life coming out of the halftime break, as they went on a 19-7 run in the half's first 10-minutes to trim the Jessup lead back to single digits. With momentum looking to be in the corner of the Mustangs, the Warriors were able to score two quick baskets to push the lead to 13, forcing Masters to use a timeout.
For the next five-minutes, both sides continued to trade basket-for-basket, with no side seeming to steal away the game's momentum. With just under six-minutes remaining in regulation, the Mustangs converted on three straight baskets to trim the lead back to single digits at 59-54, forcing Jessup to use a timeout of their own.
Jessup got a big burst of energy coming out of the timeout as Smith connected on a strong slam dunk, and the Warriors eventually got the lead to as much as eight. But again, Masters connected on back-to-back baskets to trim the lead to four. In the final stretches, Masters had to resort to fouling the Warriors, giving Jessup enough cushion to secure the victory.
"The is the GSAC. It's the No. 1 conference in the country for the NAIA. We talked about that in the locker room after the game. I'm just really happy with how the guys responded to the adversity, because every team has good players… We knew that their run was coming, but we did a good job of steadying the ship and finishing strong," said Von Vogt.
Leading the offensive charge Saturday for the Warriors was Clement with 18 points. The Warriors also saw key productivity from Floyd and Nunez who contributed 12 and 11 points respectively.
"We have had a next man up attitude, and we've been able to stay successful in spite of injuries," added Von Vogt. The Warriors entered the game missing starting point guard Darrel Polee (Sacramento, CA), but the team took another big blow when Patterson went down with an injury in the first half and didn't return. "I'm just really proud of the entire team. They know they can carry the load, they'll just have to step up and play a couple more minutes when someone goes down."
The season continues on Tuesday when the Warriors play host to Menlo College (5-6, 0-1 GSAC). Tuesday will be the second conference contest of the year for both sides, and it will also be the first conference meeting between Jessup and Menlo since the 2013-14 season, when both teams were members of the California Pacific Conference. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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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).
