PHOENIX, Ariz. - Jessup men's basketball went into the Arizona road trip moving up a spot in the national ranking, now sitting 24th but facing another Top-25 matchup with the first opponent on the road, Arizona Christian who is ranked No. 21. The battle was no surprise, back and forth with the home court advantage taking full effect as the Firestorm pulled away with the win down the stretch, 86-75.

"Tonight wasn't our night. We were disjointed from the jump and we never really settled in. I thought we battled, however, I didn't see the poise and composure that we've shown in the past," head coach Lance Von Vogt commented at the conclusion of the game. "We've got to shore up some areas to be good enough to win on the road against this type of competition. ACU did a fantastic job on us tonight and they deserve the credit for defending their home court."

In the opening five minutes of play, the score would be tied 3 times before the Warriors went on a 7-0 unanswered run forcing the Firestorm timeout, Jessup up 16-9. But the home team wouldn't rest as they hit their own stride with 5 of their own straight points to cut the lead to three.

With less than four minutes remaining in the first half, both teams would go on an offensive surge, the Warriors leading by as much as 7, but the Firestorm would take the lead with less than a minute to go before a steal by Isaiah Milan and the fastbreak pass to Keith Phillips for the slam dunk would turn the lead back in the Warriors' favor, 40-39 at the break. 

The Firestorm would get a jump start in the second half with a 7-0 run, but 7-straight points by GSAC Player of the Week, Phillips would cut the home team's lead to 3.  The Warriors would get as close as one-point away from regaining the lead in with a three from Wilson LaShells in the corner with less than 9 minutes to play and a tie ballgame would hit the scoreboard at the 7:45 mark.

The Warrior's last lead would come at the 4-minute mark as Phillips hit a jumper in the paint, Jessup up 72-71. But an unanswered 7-0 run to close out regulations would favor the higher-seed Firestorm with the 86-75 victory.

Phillips would hit his third-straight double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Warriors, followed by Milan with 12 points and Polee with 10.

The Warriors will hit the road tomorrow, traveling to Surprise for their final matchup of the road trip on Saturday against Ottawa - AZ slated for 1 pm PST. 

"I am glad we are playing basketball which means we have only one night to process this and one day to prepare for our next game on Saturday. We don't have to wait a week like football," Von Vogt concluded. "This is a resilient bunch and we have a lot of season in front of us where we can still reach our potential. This group has a high ceiling."
   
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).