DAVIS, Calif. - The Jessup men's basketball team took on their first NCAA Division I opponent this Saturday in an exhibition matchup hosted by the UC Davis Aggies. The Warriors came out strong but the 2016 NCAA Tournament appearance Aggies played hard the full 40 minutes to take the 86-52 advantage over the Warriors. 

"Today was a great opportunity to compete against an NCAA tournament level team," head coach Lance Von Vogt said. "We have a lot of positives to take from this game. Ultimately you have to make open shots to give yourself a chance and today we struggled to knock down the open ones."

Opening the game on a strong note, the Warriors were up 12-9 at the first media timeout, just five minutes into the contest running well with the home team. But the Aggies settled into the familiar territory holding the Warriors to 11 points in the remaining 15 minutes, as Jessup struggled from the floor going 1-16 from beyond the arc and shooting 25-percent from the field in the opening half.

At the break, the Warriors trailed the Aggies 46-23 but continuing to be a presence both offensively and defensively was junior Keith Phillips who had 11 points and 8 boards the first 20 minutes.

Phillips continued his impressive outing in the second half with back-to-back baskets under the hoop to open the second half nabbing a pair of offensive boards to tip him over the double-double mark with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Von Vogt was pleased with his bigs and their ability to control the key both offensively and defensively, "Keith Phillips was absolutely outstanding today and this should give him confidence moving forward and I also liked what (Brennan) Rakoz, (P.J.) Posey and (Oliver) Amajoyi did controlling the boards and paint."

The Warriors finished the second half improving to 31-percent from the field and Phillips and Luis Medearis making connections from beyond the arc for a 29-point half. Leading the Warriors was none other than Phillips that finished with 24 points and 15 boards, followed by Brennan Rakoz with 7 points and 8 rebounds and P.J. Posey with 6 points.

Jessup will return home for a pair of holiday tournaments starting with the Jessup Classic this coming Thursday, December 14th through Saturday, December 16th where they will first take on SAGU-American Indian College on Thursday at 7 pm in Warrior Arena.

   
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) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).