ROCKLIN, Calif. – It was an electric atmosphere in Warrior Arena Saturday night for homecoming where Jessup (15-6, 7-3 GSAC) was set to take on their best opponent yet, No. 7 Hope International University (18-4, 7-2 GSAC). Trailing by 17 in the closing stretches of the first half, the Warriors put on one of the greatest comebacks in school history to knock the Royals off their throne, winning 70-61, and showing the nation that Jessup is a force to be reckoned with.
"(Hope International) controlled the tempo, and the style of play the first 20-minutes," said Von Vogt. "I told our guys when we were down 17 with about four-minutes left that we needed to get the lead under 10 by halftime we're going to be just fine, and that's exactly what we did."
"We played their game in the first half; (Hope International) played our game in the second half. This was two great teams. I have the utmost respect for Hope International. I believe them to be one of the top three or four teams in the country."
Despite the home crowd providing all the energy, it was Hope that would come out of the tip-off hot. Several unforced errors by the Warriors became turnovers and finally Von Vogt felt obligated to call timeout with a 6-0 deficit. Von Vogt was able to calm his team and the Warriors came out of the timeout on a 4-0 run.
After vying to establish dominance over the pace of the game each team settled in to their rhythm and the back-and-forth battle began. The first 10-minutes saw Hope super-hot from three-point arc reaching the point of frustration when they hit a banked long ball from five-feet behind the arc at the end of the shot clock. In fact, after 10-minutes of play the Royals were 5-6 from behind the extra point arc.
The remainder of the first half continued to result in missed shots for Jessup and made baskets for Hope. The early three-point clinic opened up a lot of post and back door opportunities as Jessup fought to deny any big point shots. Despite the mismatched field goal percentages, however, Jessup managed to close the half down by only nine points.
Both teams appeared to have discussed defensive strategy during the break because not a point was added to the scoreboard for the first minute and a half. But it was the Warriors who struck first determined to chip away. Then all of a sudden, in less than 40-seconds, Jessup hit three quick layups to cut the Royals' lead to 39-36.
After a great deal of work and a great deal of patience on the part of the Warriors, they finally worked their way back into the lead with nine-minutes remaining in the game as senior Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV) drove hard to the basket grabbing the finish, the foul, and the subsequent free throw.
The momentum kept rolling for the Warriors until they saw their biggest lead of night, 57-48, forcing Hope to call a timeout. Hope came out of the break energized and went on a 7-2 run of their own but couldn't manage to completely close the gap. The Warriors carried a three point lead into the final minute.
On the possession in the final minute, senior Desmond Floyd stripped the ball from Hope, and in the commotion, Hope called a timeout they didn't have. The technical foul gave Clement a free throw which he hit. Soon after, Jessup came up with a big stop followed by a fast break for a massive slam dunk by Floyd with a foul and 24 seconds on the clock. Floyd sank the free throw, giving the Warriors a 67-61 lead but there was still time for the Royals.
Patterson collected a defensive rebound and was given the opportunity to put the game away with two free throws. He hit one making it a three possession game and ending Hope's chances, giving Jessup its second win against a top ten team in as many games. With the final buzzer sounding, the Warrior fans rushed the court to celebrate the big 70-61 victory.
After the game, Von Vogt was very ecstatic about the support from the crowd and the atmosphere inside the Warrior Arena for William Jessup University's 2016 Homecoming game.
"We love when our student section fills up like it did tonight. Our guys love this campus so much and enjoy this campus so much, and so much of their effort goes to it. To see the student body come out in full force and support us with such passion and pride gave our guys the energy to make that second half push. I can't discount the crowd at all."
Jessup saw a combined effort from a number of different players Saturday night. Senior Saajid Polite (Sacramento, CA) turned in yet another strong performance, leading the way with 14 points and 5 assists. Floyd recorded 13 points, and senior Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) finished with 11.
The season now begins a different challenge, as four of the final six games for Jessup will take place on the road. The first of those four will be on Tuesday when the Warriors travel to Southern California to take on Biola University. Biola will be looking for some revenge, as Jessup was victorious in their previous meeting on January 14 in Rocklin. Game time Tuesday is 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).
