Vallejo, Calif. – Jessup men's basketball (5-3) was able to finish on the winning side of a close battle at California Maritime Academy's (6-3) home court 68-65.
Cal Maritime came out looking to avenge their loss at William Jessup earlier this year. Their resolve resulted in an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes of the evening. The Warriors were executing their offense effectively but struggled to finish after the van ride to Vallejo. In the opening five minutes of the game Cal Maritime was able to convert on 83% of their field goals compared to 22% by Jessup.
Even with the mismatch in conversions, the Warriors never saw a double digit deficit. Weathering the storm, Jessup slowly found their footing. After they noticeably warmed up, the Warriors began methodically closing the gap and overtaking the Keelhaulers of Cal Maritime, taking the lead off a basket by senior Desmond Floyd (Gilbert, AZ) with three minutes remaining in the first half.
The slow and steady march would continue until Jessup saw a four point advantage as the half-time buzzer filled the gymnasium. Unfortunately for Jessup, the start of the second half looked eerily similar to that of the first as Cal Maritime gained nine points on the Warriors in the opening five minutes.
"Cal Maritime always comes out with great energy;" said Jessup head coach Lance Von Vogt. "I gotta give those guys great credit for coming out really prepared for tonight's game. It was finals week for our guys, I think they have been staying up all night paying attention to academics. We also have three key guys out with injuries; I think it has had a cumulative effect on everyone."
Despite the setback, the Warriors again chipped away at the Keelhaulers and once more, gained the lead late in the half, this time at the four minute mark from the hand of Jessup junior Micheal Patterson (Amarillo, TX). The stage was set to show a battle to the bitter end.
The fans would not be disappointed; the Warriors held a narrow three-point advantage as the clock ticked below one minute after a clutch three-point shot by the Keelhauler's star player Daniel Radford. Patterson answered with two points of his own and put the Warriors back in a two possession lead.
Cal Maritime was not down and out; however, they would hit two free throws before forcing a disastrous turnover. After a timeout and with 17 seconds remaining the Keelhaulers looked to take the last shot. Radford was elected to get the buzzer beater opportunity but the ball fell harmlessly off the rim and into the hands of Jessup Senior Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) as time expired.
Patterson led the Warriors offensively shooting 5-10 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line, he finished with 15 points. Smith posted 13 points and 7 rebounds while junior Guillermo Nunez (Manteca, CA) also contributed 13 points and 3 assists. Radford led the charge for the Keelhaulers with 28 points.
Jessup opens Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) play at home this Saturday against the Master's College. The tip-off will be in Warrior Arena in Rocklin, California with the women's game starting at 1 p.m. followed by the men's game 3 p.m.
When asked how tonight's win would affect the team before GSAC play Von Vogt concluded "our guys care about each other and our motivation hasn't changed going into conference play. But we're learning to win different ways, the guys are figuring out how to win ugly, we're realizing that we can't always just win clean off talent. A lot of guys came off the bench and found ways to help us get the win and that's something we're going to need to have heading into GSAC play."
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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), @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).
