ROCKLIN, Calif. - Jessup Men's Basketball remained undefeated on the season as they took on the thirteenth ranked Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls in the finale of the Bill Holtz Warrior Classic. The Warriors jumped out to an early lead but couldn't quite pull away, as Oregon Tech tied things up ten times. Jessup's defense stood tall in the end, and the Warriors hung on for a nail-biting 68-64 win to improve to 3-0 on the young season.
 
"We knew that they were going to be ready for tonight. They were going to make it hard for us, and they did. You know, I thought that we had control of the game," said head coach Lance Von Vogt. "We get to go play those guys again, up there at their place. I'm very happy with the effort, but we've got to execute better. We have to play smarter."
 
Both teams started slow offensively, missing their first four combined shots and turning the ball over in the first two minutes. Matthew Schmidt opened up the scoring, and the Warriors jumped out to an early 11-5 lead. 
 
It was short-lasted, however, as the Owls stormed back to tie things up. Through the first half, the two sides were neck and neck and entered the break tied up at 29. The scoring was distributed evenly all around, with no players in double figures in the first half.
 
The defense was dominant in the first half as both sides were shooting below 50% from the field. Perimeter shots were not falling for Jessup, who shot just 1-8 behind the arc. Oregon Tech was 2-10 from deep.
 
The Warriors started the second half on a 9-2 run to pull out to their biggest lead of the night with 17:03 remaining. Jayden DeJoseph hit a big three-pointer assisted by Cashemin Williams to secure the seven-point advantage. 
 
Malik Corey was a menace defensively for the Warriors with two crucial steals on a run that gave Jessup an eleven-point lead (55-44). 
 
Every Jessup run was matched by one from Oregon Tech, who took a 60-59 lead with a little more than three minutes to play. The Warriors had plenty of chances to put the game away down the stretch but struggled from the free-throw line, allowing the Owls to stick around. The Warriors shot 52.4% (11-21) from the charity stripe.
 
"We have to make free throws, you know, we shot forty...fifty-something percent from the free-throw line, but we missed a bunch in front of the one and ones," said Von Vogt.
 
Jessup played stout defense down the stretch despite its struggles at the line and hung on for a 68-64 victory.
 
Cashemin Williams took over in the second half with fifteen points and four assists. Williams was the game's leading scorer with 22. Matthew Schmidt (12), Myles Corey (10), and Tim Strijaous (10) all finished the game in double figures as well. Freshman Charlie Garrison cleaned the boards all night, leading the Warriors with nine rebounds. Schmidt grabbed five boards while Williams added one. Williams led the team with five assists.
 
The Warriors will test themselves on Tuesday as they travel to Sacramento State for their second exhibition against a Division-I opponent. 
 
"I think the GSAC conference is arguably the, you know, the toughest conference from top to bottom in the country. And we'd be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't play a big schedule," said Von Vogt. "That's the way that we like it, because we think that we're one of those top teams, and we're trying to prepare to go to national tournaments."
 
Jessup will be road warriors for the next two weeks, as they will cross state lines to play in Oregon Tech's preseason tournament next weekend. Following that, they head to Vallejo to face Cal Maritime before opening up GSAC play on the road against (RV) Vanguard and Life Pacific. The Warriors will be back on Horton Court on Nov. 23 for a rematch with Cal Maritime.
   
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).