FULLERTON, Calif. – On a day already marked as a milestone for Jessup's men's basketball program, the Warriors opened the 2023 GSAC Tournament Thursday night against (RV) Hope International. A dominating first half put the Warriors in a great spot at halftime, but in the end, they walk away on the short end of a 68-64 defeat.
Jessup, now 16-13 overall, does not know what awaits them as they will find out with the rest of the world if they earned a bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
Head coach
Lance Von Vogt, who announced earlier in the day that this season would be his last, said after the game, "We're confident that we will hear our name called next week when they announce the brackets for the national tournament. And we know it's not guaranteed, and we need an at-large bid. But we played one of the top-five schedules in the country and had no bad losses."
Jessup looked red hot in the first half, shooting 48 percent from the floor while knocking down seven threes.
The Warriors closed out the first half on a 13-3 run, starting with a layup from a returning
Xavier Lovelace and ending on a three-point play from senior
Jordan Adams. Jessup entered the locker room leading by nine, 36-27, setting the stage for what looked to be a clear path to victory.
But then came a run by the Royals.
Hope International opened up the second half on a 10-1 run, evening the score at 37 on a Sebastian Castro three.
The Royals took the lead with 15:29 to go on a Gaven Ramirez layup, setting up 13 minutes of the score flipping from one team to the other. But with 1:50 to go, Hope would go ahead by four, creating an immediate need for a basket.
In the end, Jessup had a shot at tying the game with 36 seconds on the clock, but
Jayden DeJoseph's three rimmed out.
"It was a terrific playoff basketball game," added Von Vogt. "We came out and played well in the first half, but it was a tale of two halves, and Hope made the plays down the stretch to earn the win."
Myles Corey led the Warriors in scoring, dropping 15 points.
Ty Artis scored 14, while Lovelace (12) and Williams (10) also ended the game in double-figures.
Not knowing if this was the end, Von Vogt expressed gratitude to his senior class, adding, "We had four great seniors this year. All four of those guys bleed warrior blue. They care about their teammates. They're fantastic basketball players, and they're better people.
Those four seniors are Adams, DeJoseph, Williams, and
David McCants.
The NAIA will reveal the 2023 National Tournament bracket on March 2.
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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).
