PHOENIX, Ariz.  - The Warrior's men's basketball program took on their second NCAA Div. I ranked opponent this season, this time traveling to Grand Canyon University for their second exhibition of the season. Making a run in the first half, the Warrior closed the gap to three points headed into halftime, but the Lopes came out strong to take the win 96-80 over Jessup.

"I really liked what I saw from the team tonight," head coach Lance Von Vogt said. "We competed toe to toe with a top tier D1 team in their house in front a capacity crowd on national television. The lights didn't bother the guys and we put up some of the most points against Grand Canyon of any team this year."

Exchanging basket-for-basket through the first five minutes of play, the Warriors trailed the Lopes by just one through the first media timeout. Later in the opening half, the Lopes would go on a 12-2 run to extend the lead to 15 (31-16) at the midway point of the half.

In the final 6 minutes, the Warriors chipped away at the Lopes' lead with a 16-3 run to tie it up 43-43 with less than a minute remaining in the first half.  A couple fouls and free-throws for the home team sent them to the locker room with the 46-43 advantage after the first 20-minutes of play.

Jessup continued to battle through the second-half, but Grand Canyon would ride the wave to the end shooting an impressive 68-percent from the floor in the final half to take it 96-80. The Warriors are the third-highest scoring team against the Lopes, right behind Boise State (85) and Nevada (81).

The Warriors had contributions throughout the line-up led by junior Luis Medearis with 20 points, followed by Keith Phillips with 13 points and under the basket was Oliver Amajoyi who had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Also contributing was Luke Walker with 5 assists and Austin Dill 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

Von Vogt was impressed with the teamwork displayed across the stat lines, "We got contributions from everyone and that will bode well in the future. I was especially impressed with Big O and how he competed underneath." 

With a pair of conference matchups ahead of them, the Warriors will rest up to take on Arizona Christian on Thursday (7:30 pm) and then head to San Diego Christian on Saturday (3 pm) before returning back home. 

"All in all this will serve us well as we go through the final 9 games of GSAC play," Von Vogt concluded.
 
   
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).