ROCKLIN, Calif. - The No. 22 William Jessup University Warriors (18-8, 10-5) were hoping to leave Arizona Christian (21-6, 9-5) with a new record for the school's most wins in a single season, but labored to find the bottom of the net leaving with an 80-65 loss.
Through the opening five minutes of play, it looked like the game would become a slugfest between the two NAIA powerhouse teams with the score tied at nine. The Firestorm were hitting a high percentage of shots but Jessup was getting more opportunities from five offensive rebounds. Then, at the 12-minute mark, the Firestorm launched a 7-0 run at the Warriors to grab a 16-9 lead.
Headed into the final five minutes of the first period Arizona Christian was shooting the lights out of the gym, hitting 4-7 from behind the three-point arc compared to 3-14 from the Warriors. The advantage gave the Firestorm a 32-18 lead.
At the end of the first half, the Warriors managed to minimize the damage from shooting only 30% from the field and 20% from behind the three-point line, trailing the Firestorm by just eight at 38-30 headed into the halftime talks.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they did not get the second half started on a more positive note. Arizona Christian opened the period with a 12-0 run, leaving Jessup unable to find the basket for over four minutes. Jessup senior Saajid Polite (Sacramento, CA) finally got the Warrior offense going hitting five in a row and bringing the score to 50-35 with 15 minutes remaining in the game.
The baskets helped but the Warriors struggled to make ground. Arizona Christian appeared unable to miss and the result was an ever increasing lead for the remainder of the game. The Warriors narrowed the deficit slightly in the final minutes but left with an 80-65 loss.
Senior Corey Clement led the Warriors offensively with 15 points and nine rebounds. Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) contributed 13 points while Polite put 12 points on the board.
"ACU played a whale of a game today on their senior night and earned the victory," said head coach Lance Von Vogt. "They very rarely lose here and today was an example of why. With five ranked teams in our conference its a war every night out and you must defend your home court because road wins are tough to come by. We held serve on our home court and they held serve on theirs. We will hit the reset button and get ready for our senior night game versus Westmont on Thursday."
The Warriors will have another opportunity to beat the team's single-season wins record when they return home on Thursday to host No. 23 Westmont College for senior night. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 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).
