ROCKLIN, Calif. -  With the top-five ranking next to their name, the Warriors can expect to get the very best out of every opponent. That is exactly what occurred inside Warrior Arena Thursday night, as the Warriors had to fight tooth and nail to edge out with a 74-71 victory over the OUAZ Spirit.
 
Head Coach Lance Von Vogt was quick to compliment his opponents after the game. "We did what was necessary to get a win against a very good Ottawa club. And I give Ottawa all the credit for their defensive pressure tonight, and I thought they disrupted us, and we didn't handle it particularly well."
 
OUAZ provided disruptions throughout the night, including a 15-2 run in the first half that evened the score at 21.
 
The Warriors regained separation in the closing stretches of the first half, backed by a 9-3 run. OUAZ closed the gap to four, sending the contest to the break at 32-28.
 
Thursday's second half saw the Spirit once again even the score, this time at 39. There were nine ties in this 40-minute battle, but only three lead changes. The first lead change in favor of OUAZ came with 10:40 to play as Marcus Williams drained a three, placing his side ahead 54-51.
 
Jessup retook the lead at 57-55 and looked to be putting the game out of reach, pushing their lead to 68-59. But then came the turning point.
 
With a nine-point cushion, the Warriors were called for both a personal and technical foul, giving OUAZ four consecutive free throw attempts. All four were converted and were then followed by a Devin Collins layup to trim the score to 72-69.
 
Cashemin Williams split a trip to the line with 12 seconds left, setting up an opportunity for OUAZ to tie with a three. Instead, they went for the two, needing to foul again. With another chance to tie on a triple late, the OUAZ in-bound attempt was stolen by Tarren Storey-Way, icing the game for the Warriors.
 
Von Vogt spoke about his team's resiliency to fight through a challenging game like this. "We've got a resilient bunch, and I thought (Williams) did a great job of being calm under their pressure and the, you know, the hard hedges, the double teams, the ice ball screens, and he made them pay when they over-committed to him with getting the ball to others. And then he also was able to, you know, find his own shot when he needed to."
 
Williams led the way in the scoring column, dropping 32 points, his second-highest scoring game of the season. The showing comes just four days removed from receiving GSAC Player of the Week honors.
 
The Golden State Athletic Conference has also highlighted another area of Jessup Basketball, their next game. Saturday's contest against No. 8 Arizona Christian is being tabbed the GSAC Game of the Week.
 
"The GSAC can call it what they want," said Von Vogt. "It's the most important game of the year because it's the next game up, and it's another team that's in the top-10."
 
Von Vogt went on to say, "We're gonna need to play really well on Saturday to win because ACU is one of the best teams in the country. And I heard that they lost night, so I imagine that they're going to hit reset real quick and come in ready to go, so we expect it to be a great game."
 
Arizona Christian fell at the buzzer to Menlo College on Thursday, dropping them to 5-3 in the GSAC. The Warriors will come into Saturday's noon battle with a GSAC record of 7-1, 19-1 overall.
   
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).