ROCKLIN, Calif. – Jessup men's basketball (1-3) ends the 19th Annual Bill Holtz Classic in an exhilarating double overtime finish against Cal Poly Humboldt (2-2), 81-85.
Jessup held numerous leads near the end of regulation and the first overtime period, but Humboldt's Rob Jenkins played hero time and time again. Jenkins hit a triple with 4.2 seconds remaining to tie it 57-57 and made a layup with .2 seconds on the clock in double overtime to tie it 68-68. Jenkins finished with 28 points while Drew Ardouin poured in 32.
"We need to be able to get the stops we need down the stretch," Jessup Head Coach Mark Darnall said. "I thought we did a much better job tonight and addressed our rebounding issue, but we allowed too many opportunities for the Lumberjacks."
The Warriors never stopped fighting, however, as junior Varick Lewis came off the bench and poured in 21 points; 18 in the second half and overtime including four three-pointers.
"I have to help find him some more shots throughout the game and not just at the end," Darnall said. "He's trying to play the right way, he's learning our system, and he's figuring out what that looks like for him."
Bench points were the biggest strength for Jessup that helped them stay in the game as Wyatt Studer also had a great night with 12 points on five of six opportunities. Studer had three huge dunks early in the second half that brought energy into the Warriors offense as they made a nine-point scoring run.
"I even told him in the locker room that I was proud of him," Darnall said. "He has been having better practices and building more consistency in his habits and it showed for him tonight. I'm happy he was able to come in and give us that spark and hopefully he can build off of that."
Aleksander Mitrovic and Cayden McDaniel also finished in double figures with 13 points for Jessup. The Warriors shot 40% from the field and 39% from the three-point-line. They were very efficient at the free throw line, making 20 of their 23 shots.
Jessup will now prepare for California Maritime University back at Warrior Arena on Wednesday, November 26th. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
