ATHERTON, Calif. – It seemed easy to change the channel early Saturday night, as the Warriors appeared to have their battle with Menlo College wrapped up early. But in a true example of college basketball being a 40-minute affair, Menlo pieced together an incredible comeback bid that ended with a tying attempt failing at the buzzer.
Victors by the final of 76-73, Jessup improves its conference record to 9-5. The Warriors sit tied with The Master's for second place in the GSAC, but TMU currently owns the tiebreaker after a head-to-head victory.
The top two seeds in the GSAC Tournament earn first-round byes.
On if he is looking at the top spots in the standings, head coach
Lance Von Vogt stated, "We've been focusing on ourselves and getting better every day. We're still a work in progress."
As previously mentioned, Saturday's game looked to be well taken care of in the early goings. At halftime, Jessup led by 19, and that lead grew to as many as 23 as the Warriors sat on top 51-28 with 17:39 to go.
But the Oaks, who fell to 7-7 in GSAC play with the loss, were no pushovers.
Menlo cut the deficit to ten with 7:42 to go, and five minutes later, they cut that in half with a layup from Corey Le'aupepe.
The final minute would only continue to be intense. Menlo sank a three with 13 seconds to go and then had to foul, sending
Cashemin Williams to the line for the double-bonus situation of two free throws. Williams, a 90 percent free throw shooter, sank 1-of-2, giving Menlo a chance to force overtime. The Oaks stretched the court, but Jessup's defense negated a clean attempt as the equalizer missed to end any thought of overtime.
After the game, Von Vogt spoke highly of the Oaks, noting, "They're a terrific team. They've been nationally ranked this year, and coach Rooney does a great job with them. They're tough. I mean, they grade out as a top-ten defense in the country because they've got that grit."
Williams led the scoring, dropping 22 points to pair with nine assists.
Xavier Lovelace added 15 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Myles Corey was the third player in double-figures, pairing 11 points with eight boards.
The anticipated bi-annual meeting of Jessup and Arizona Christian is next on the schedule. History has not been on Jessup's side in recent years, as the Firestorm will be entering Warrior Arena winners of 12 straight against Jessup.
"Anytime that you get a chance to play on your home court, you want to defend the home court," added Von Vogt ahead of Jessup's final two home games of the season. "We've got senior night coming up on Saturday. We're excited about the opportunity to compete on our home floor in front of our fans, and we expect to have good crowds. It's going to be an exciting environment. I invite everybody to come out and support the Warriors."
That matchup with ACU will be one fans should circle, as at halftime, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be holding their
Pie in the Face event, a fundraiser with proceeds going directly to the Special Olympics.
Game time on Thursday is set for 7:30 p.m.
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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).
