ROCKLIN, Calif. – For one last time on their home floor, the No. 22 William Jessup Warriors (18-9, 10-6 GSAC) hit the hardwood for a big time clash against No. 24 Westmont College (20-8, 9-6 GSAC) with major GSAC playoff implications on the line. Jessup came out firing, taking a double-digit lead that looked to be enough, but a late Westmont run down the wire helped them take the victory, 65-63.
"This group of seniors that we have on this roster are amazing people beyond basketball. They have raised the level of our program to a nationally ranked program that competed tonight with a team that played for the national championship last year," said head coach Lance Von Vogt postgame.
"We have beaten the top two seeds in the GSAC, and we're the only team to do that this year. We're capable, and we're strong. We're going to work hard to point ourselves in the right direction and finish things strong down at the GSAC tournament."
The last time the two teams met was a classic heavyweight matchup that went down to the final rounds. The Warriors kept themselves in the game all night on that January evening, but it was Westmont who celebrated the victory on their home floor. On Thursday, the Warriors went into the night with some extra incentive involved as they tried to lock up the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
Heading into the first media timeout Thursday the two teams had played evenly with Westmont edging out Jessup owning 10-9 lead. Coach Von Vogt signaled his team to pick up a full court man press in an attempt to move Westmont out of their comfort zone and it seemed to be working as senior Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV) caught the defense out of position and took the ball to the hole for an old-fashioned three-point play.
Westmont made a correction quickly and the three-point centered offense delivered, grabbing back a two point lead. The Warriors offensive strategy fell to dribble penetration and post play, scoring easily close the basket against the smaller Westmont squad. Westmont relied offensively on backdoor cuts and three point shots and the two teams each played their game well.
Jessup was fueled to open up their lead with four minutes remaining in the opening period when Clement found himself behind the defense on a fast break and slammed it home. Westmont missed their three-point attempt but senior Brenton Muldrow (Sacramento, CA) did not miss his, giving Jessup a 28-20 lead.
The game was broken up for the Warriors in the closing two minutes when Von Vogt was called for a technical foul. Westmont went on a free throw streak hitting four but Jessup would have the last word in the period when junior Guillermo Nunez (Manteca, CA) hit a buzzer beating jump shot giving Jessup a 32-29 lead going into the locker room.
It would be William Jessup that would keep the momentum at the outset of the second half. Seniors Saajid Polite (Sacramento, CA) and Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) would combine for six and force Westmont to burn a timeout early. The timeout worked for a couple minutes but Clement nabbed a steal, taking it all the way to the basket and giving Jessup their first double digit lead of the night.
For the next several minutes the Warriors seemed to have Westmont's number. They had several opportunities to put the proverbial nail in the coffin grabbing three steals in the course of a minute but missing two open three point looks on the subsequent possessions.
Westmont found life starting with an "and-1" three-point play. Soon they would battle back to within five hitting an open three-point on the fast break. Jessup looked to be flustered offensively, giving up two consecutive turnovers and allowing Westmont to pull back to even.
The second half was a no holds barred game of who can get the ball close to the basket. Neither team was shooting well from long distance with Jessup recording 3 of 19 and Westmont hitting 3 of 17 half way through the 2nd half. There was contact nearly every time the ball moved and both teams were trying to grit their way through a below average outing from the field.
Westmont's Blau gave his team a jump start when he found his way to the basket, converted and drew the foul giving Westmont their first lead of the half with just a minute and thirty seconds remaining.
Clement answered with a three but a layup by Westmont tied the game with one minute remaining. Polite shot a three, missed, Floyd grabbed the offensive rebound but had it stripped away and Westmont was going to have the last shot opportunity with 30 seconds remaining on the clock.
After a timeout to set up what could be the final play of the game, Westmont gave the ball to Gerald Karczewski for one last shot. Karczewski ran the shot clock down to the final seconds before firing up a 25-foot 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net with six seconds remaining.
Jessup tried to get a timeout called to set up one final play in the front court, but a timeout was not given as Clement pushed the ball up court. Clement got to the corner of the court and fired up a shot at the buzzer that missed, but he would be fouled. After discussion, the officials determined that he would be awarded just two free throws as he was in front of the three-point arc.
With just 0.4-seconds remaining on the clock, Clement hit the first free throw but needed to miss the second for a tip-in opportunity. On the second attempt, the shot was missed, but a Westmont defender batted the ball away ending the game and ending Jessup's regular season with a heartbreaking loss.
"(Westmont) executes their offense flawlessly, and they are probably one of the most efficient offenses in the country. They took advantage of a few defensive lapses that we had which allowed them to come back into the game," said Von Vogt.
"This game was a very physical game, and it was a difficult game to officiate. At the end of the day we played to the best of our ability given the circumstances."
Clement finished the night with a game high 24 points, connecting on 75-percent (8-for-12) from the field. Behind him was Smith with 11 points and 9 boards, and Nunez who finished with 10 points.
With the regular season in the books for Jessup, all eyes are now on the rest of the GSAC as they will wrap up the season on Saturday. Jessup must await the outcomes of the game played between Arizona Christian and Vanguard, as well as Westmont's matchup against Menlo. Jessup has already locked in a spot to the 2016 GSAC playoffs which begin Thursday in Fullerton. Stay posted to www.jessupathletics.com for updates on playoff seeding, matchups, and game time information.
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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).
