SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – With one game left in the regular season, the Warriors took the court Saturday looking to solidify their seating in next week's conference championship. After a second consecutive loss, the Warriors now know who and when they will play.
Falling by the final of 85-78, the Warriors will enter next week's GSAC Tournament as the sixth and final seed.
"It was a struggle," said head coach
Lance Von Vogt after the game. "We need to get healthy. We have some areas that other teams have been able to exploit without us having full access to our roster. We have to be able to dictate the pace and style of the game with what we have."
Ty Artis led the scoring for Jessup, dropping 17 points on 7-of-14 from the floor. He knocked down three triples and also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.
Playing in his final regular season game for the Warriors, Jessup's All-American point guard
Cashemin Williams scored 16 points to pair with eight assists. He also pulled down seven boards to match Artis.
Trailing by 13 with 13:36 to go, Jessup went on a second-half charge as they were able to get within five points with 5:46 to go on
Myles Corey's tip-in. The basket resulted in a trip to the line from Corey, but he could not cash in on the three-point play.
Westmont never let the Warriors get within any less than five down the final five minutes as they held on for the win.
Von Vogt spoke about his opponent's ability to hold on late, adding, "I thought Westmont did a good job of dictating key moments to come away with the win down the wire."
Jessup shot 40.5 percent from the floor in the loss as opposed to a 48 percent showing from Westmont. Westmont also ended the day with four players scoring in double-figures.
Nigel McKay (13) and
Jayden DeJoseph (11) were the two others to drop double-digit points in the loss for Jessup.
The bracket for the 2023 GSAC Tournament is now set. Westmont, who moves to the four-seed, draws OUAZ in the opening round. Jessup will take on three-seed Hope International.
On the mindset entering the postseason, Von Vogt added, "We know what's at stake. It's playoff basketball. We've been there before. One of the things that's been beautiful about our Jessup basketball program is the consistency year over year. In the nine years we've been in the GSAC, we've earned a bid into the GSAC Tournament all nine times. That kind of consistency is something we're proud of."
"We expect we expect to go in there and play playing one game at a time and work our way and survive and advance to replan on Saturday for the championship."
Jessup's first game will take place on Thursday at 7:15 p.m. The 2023 tournament will be held at Darling Pavilion on the campus of Hope International University in Fullerton.
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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 Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
