ROCKLIN, Calif. – History has not been on the side of the Warriors in their rivalry with Arizona Christian. Entering Saturday losers of 13 straight against the Firestorm, Jessup got off to an unbelievable start as they blew past their nationally-ranked opponent to snap the streak.
Jessup, now 11-4 on the season, improved their GSAC record to 2-0 to start conference play. Arizona Christian came into the day ranked No. 10 in the country, and with the loss, they drop to 12-4 overall and 1-1 in the GSAC.
Guard
Myles Corey, who was 0-7 in his career against the Firestorm, came into the day needing to score 30 points to become the all-time leading scorer in program history. Early on, Corey was on a roll, and it looked like a new record could be set on Horton Court.
Corey knocked down five triples in the opening half as he dropped 18 points in the first 20 minutes. Corey's sharpshooting played a prominent role in a 30-3 run by the Warriors to start the contest.
"We came ready to play, and when we show up ready like that, there is nobody who can beat us," said Corey in his postgame conversation with Dave Rosenthal.
The opening run saw Jessup knock down seven threes, as
Ty Artis and
Nigel McKay also knocked down shots from beyond the arc. Jessup ended up shooting 54.5 percent from the field in the opening half as they entered the locker room leading 53-23.
But against a top-ten opponent, no lead is safe.
After another Corey three to start the second half, ACU began to gather some momentum as they went on a 17-3 run. ACU used a full-court press to pull back into the game, as they forced the Warriors into 15 second-half turnovers.
ACU cut the Warriors lead to as little as 11, but that came with 50 seconds remaining as the Warriors held on to snap a five-year streak.
"This has been a build-up all season," added Corey. "At the beginning, we set a goal that we need to beat ACU. We haven't beaten them in 13 games. We needed this one. All the momentum from the Ottawa game carried into this one. We just locked in. Yesterday, we had a good practice, and this morning, we had a good shootaround."
Corey ended the day scoring 25 points, as he needs just four more to tie the record and five to break it. Artis contributed 17, while
Ja'Maris Blackmon (16) and
Xavier Lovelace (12) all added double-figures. Lovelace led the Warriors in rebounding with 13.
The Firestorm were led by Lorenzo Wright, who scored 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
Now, the Warriors shift their focus back to the road, as up next is a trip to Southern California. Jessup will kick off the trip on Thursday when they take on Vanguard. The trip then wraps up with a visit to Hope International on Saturday.
The Warriors will be back at home on January 25 when they host Life Pacific.
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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).
