Men's Basketball | 03/10/16
Pre-Game interview with head coach Lance Von Vogt (audio)
ROCKLIN, Calif.-Shouts of joy could be heard around campus Wednesday as the William Jessup University men's basketball team and fans received word they were selected to be one of 32 teams headed to the 2016 NAIA D1 national championship tournament.
In just their second year since moving up to Division 1, the program will be making their first playoff appearance. The Warriors last visited the national tournament as a Division 2 school in 2010.
"I'm so excited for our University as a whole," said head basketball coach Lance Von Vogt after the announcement. "I'm thankful for the administration who put the support into this program from Dr. John Jackson to Eric Hogue to Mitch Pleiss who isn't with us anymore but played a big role; and I'm proud of the team for believing in our vision and believing in the process of what it takes to become a successful program at the national level and to achieve that in our second year in the GSAC is something really special."
The Warriors earned the at-large bid after finishing the season with an 18-10 record, 10-6 in conference play. Jessup's wins included victories over four top-25 teams, three of them ranked in the top ten when Jessup claimed victory.
Jessup's strong conference schedule included Biola, Hope, Arizona Christian, Westmont, and Vanguard, each of which will also be representing the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) at the national tournament. The national selection committee took note of the ultra-competitive conference, awarding the GSAC five playoff positions.
"It shows that we are the premiere league in the country for men's basketball," commented Von Vogt. "The competition that we have night in and night out is going to prepare us for success at the national tournament, we believe that we have already competed against the best in the country so going to the national tournament won't be much different."
The Warriors were led offensively this year by senior Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV) who averaged over 16 points and 7 rebounds per game. Clement also set a record for most points scored in a game since Jessup joined the NAIA, posting 35 against Arizona Christian. Furthermore, Clement recorded the only triple-double in the GSAC this year against Vanguard University.
Andre Smith, on average, contributes over 12 points per game toward the Warrior scoreboard as well as over 10 rebounds. Additionally, Smith has posted 11 double-doubles this year. Saajid Polite (Sacramento, CA) also provides 12 points per game and a lightning quick defensive presence on the perimeter while Desmond Floyd (Gilbert, AZ) starts in the power forward slot posting over 9 points and nearly 6 rebounds each game.
The Warriors will open their tournament play on Thursday, March 17 at 4:30 p.m. taking on No 2 seeded University of Pikeville (KY) Bears.
Pikeville currently sits at No. 5 nationally, finishing the year with a 25-5 record, 12-4 in the Mid-South Conference. The team finds significant success on the boards as they sit at No. 2 in the NAIA in total rebound margin at 11 per game, and number 3 in total defensive rebounds, averaging 28 each game.
The rebounding game should be an interesting one as Jessup has great success on the boards as well, coming in fifth nationally for rebounding margin, sitting at 9.2 each game.
The Bears are led by K.K. Simmons offensively, who provides over 16 points per game to go along with 2.8 assists. Christian Leach and Macari Brooks follow, averaging 14 points per game each while Colt Chapman contributes an average of 10 points per game.
"Pikeville has a great program," concluded Von Vogt. "They have a lot great players, they have been very good for a very long time, and it will be a challenge for us, but I believe we will be up for it, we'll be very well prepared, the guys will be motivated and we will go from there."
