FULLERTON, Calif. - If it is impossible to comeback from a 22-point halftime deficit, then the final 20-minutes of Friday's playoff battle between the Warriors (18-10, 10-6) and Vanguard Lions (19-10, 7-9) was completely fictional.

After closing out the regular season in a tie for third place with Arizona Christian, and two tiebreakers to decide who got the higher seed, the Warriors entered the 2016 GSAC Tournament with the No. 3 slot, drawing Vanguard University as their first round foes. After going a perfect 2-0 against the Lions in regular season play, it was the Lions who lucked out on the third time around as they ended Jessup's conference title hopes early.

Jessup started the game Friday by driving to the paint and trying to earn points the hard way. While the Warriors did find success down low, a perfect 4-for-4 start from three-point-range by Vanguard placed Jessup behind 16-9 just over five minutes in.

For the next five minutes, momentum tipped entirely in the Lions favor. Vanguard ran a pick-and-roll offense, setting up the screen at the top of the arc. As the Warriors continued to cut towards the paint to stop the trailing big-man, Vanguard found success kicking the ball out to an open shooter away from the screen to hit three after three.

The Lions embarked on an incredible 25-7 run in the middle stretches of the first half as they sat comfortably with a 41-16 lead. It wasn't until Jessup switched up their defensive strategy that they began to see some success, moving from a man-to-man defense into a 1-3-1 zone. The change in defensive strategy caught the Lions off guard as the Warriors achieved a nice 8-0 run.

One of the key ways the Lions were able to stop the Warrior offense was through the usage of a full-court-press on defense. Jessup often found themselves trapped in the backcourt. The press resulted in the Warriors having to push the pall into tight openings in the front court, ending in numerous first half turnovers. 

"I thought that (Vanguard) played the best 13-minutes of their year," said head coach Lance Von Vogt. "That was the best any team has played against us in the first 13-minutes of a half."

"I felt like we disrupted them with our 1-3-1 zone, but we didn't capitalize on enough of our opportunities. We held them to just six points in the last eight minutes of the first half after we went to the 1-3-1 zone, and we had opportunities to score, we just either didn't convert or we had unforced turnovers."

At the game's midway point, the outcome seemed to be already decided, as the Warriors found themselves on the wrong end of a 48-26 halftime deficit. In addition, momentum and high spirits were all in Vanguard's favor, forcing Jessup to make countless halftime adjustments.

Those half time adjustments were apparently exactly what the Warriors needed to battle back into the game. Jessup kept up the 1-3-1 zone defense, and gained some quick momentum on a 7-2 run to start the half. While in the first half it was Jessup who continued to turn the ball over due to tight defense; the second half the tables had turned as the Warriors forced a number of early turnovers in their own front court.

However, Vanguard was still able to keep a sizable advantage in the opening 10-minutes, cashing in on the deep 3-point shots thanks to their well-executed pick-and-roll centered offense. 

Finally, as the game broke into the final ten, Jessup began to strike. A key factor to the resurgent Warrior offense was due in large part to the fact that they spent the final nine minutes in the bonus. With just under 8-minutes left, a trip to the line for senior Saajid Polite (Sacramento, CA) cut the lead to single digits for the first time since early in the first half.

The Warriors continued to chip at the lead, scoring fast breaks while also pounding the ball down low to seniors Andre Smith (San Diego, CA) and Desmond Floyd (Gilbert, AZ). With just over six minutes left, things started to look like it was Jessup who would take this one, when Smith threw down a monstrous jam to make it a seven point game.

Jessup chipped the lead to as little as four in the final stretches, but it was here that their previous mistakes began to haunt them. The Warriors missed 8 free throws in the game, and turned the ball over 15 times, no two bigger than late in the game when both Polite and senior Corey Clement (Las Vegas, NV) threw the ball well out of bounds on fast break opportunities.

In the final stages, Jessup's only hope was to start intentionally fouling. The Lions kept Jessup's window open as long as they could, connecting only 19-of-31 (61-percent) from the line, but the Warriors could not convert on the offensive end to pull them back into the lead.

"I thought we played terrific in the second half, but there were critical moments where we had an error on execution. Our effort was superior. Our toughness, and capacity to compete was there. The issue was finishing plays," said Von Vogt.

While Jessup did win the rebounding game 40-36, and shot an equal 45-percent from the field with Vanguard, the Warriors finished the day 0-for-13 from three-point-range. In the end, the mistakes created to big a hole to climb out of, and disputed a historic second half comeback, Jessup's title hopes ended on an 87-79 defeat.

"I've been coaching for 17 years in college basketball, and I don't believe I've ever had a game where we didn't make one three pointer," Von Vogt added.

Smith and Floyd finished the day with easily their greatest games as members of this Warrior squad. Smith recorded a double-double, 27 points and 13 boards, while Floyd too finished with the double-double thanks to a 16 point, 11 rebound showing. 

"We felt like we had the best big men in the country and in our league all year long," complimented Von Vogt on the play of Smith and Floyd. "The game plan was to get the ball inside...Andre Smith, if he's not an all-leaguer than I don't know what is."

"Desmond is a work horse. He played an unbelievable game...Without him we wouldn't have had a chance. He's warrior, he's a terrific young man, and I've been blessed to have coached him."

Jessup held the GSAC's leading scorer Jaamon Echols to just 11 points on the day, while GSAC All-Conference team member Zach Allmon provided 18 points and 8 boards.

Now the waiting game must be played, as Jessup will wait to see if their name will be called as participants in the 2016 NAIA Division I National Tournament. The drawing will take place on Wednesday, and can be viewed on NAIA.org.

"I still believe that we're going to have our name called on Wednesday to go play in the national tournament in (Kansas City). This team deserves to be there."

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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).