ROCKLIN, Calif. – Jessup men's basketball (2-3) dominated the Cal Maritime Keelhaulers (4-3) in their first home victory of the year, 87-72.
Jessup was back at Warrior Arena on Wednesday night to face Cal Poly Maritime Academy and scored 56 points in the paint en route to an 87-72 win, their first home victory of the season.
The Warriors were aggressive inside the arc all night and also pounced on rebounds, finishing with 48 boards, 23 offensive, compared to just 28 for the visiting Keelhaulers.
"That's what we have to do to win games right now," Warriors coach Mark Darnall said. "We have to be relentless in the paint, that's our strength. They did a good job passing and catching and exploiting in there and that has to stay an attitude for us to stay on the offensive glass."
Jessup finished an impressive 65% inside the arc with freshman Tom Parsons going eight for eight and finishing with 19 points and seven boards in 22 minutes.
"I'm proud of the team, to come off back-to-back losses, one in double overtime, it's good to finally get a win," Parsons said. "We knew we had a size and strength advantage, so we had to get on the glass and get second chance points. I think we executed well."
Parsons wasn't the only efficient big tonight as junior forward Aleksander Mitrovic went six for nine and had 17 points. Senior guard Andre Norris played a fantastic game, totaling 21 points and eight boards for the Warriors.
"It was nice to see him be aggressive tonight," Darnall said. "I thought he played a good game. He had four assists and only two turnovers and I thought he was aggressive to the paint and made good decisions. He found guys, so we need him to do that for us. He really helped us offensively for sure."
The Warriors trailed in the first half, but went on an eight-point scoring run to take a 45-37 lead at the break and never looked back.
If there is one aspect of the game that has been a strength for Jessup this season, it has been their defense and that proved to be true again tonight as they forced 19 turnovers.
"It's a massive pillar for us," Parsons said. "That's our identity we're trying to keep for the rest of the year and it's just communication for us. Being close with each other and being comfortable enough to talk and not worry about what anyone else says, just execute a game plan."
"We just have to watch film and find ways to improve, but I know this group will always show up," Darnall said. "They're always going to fight and as a coach that's great comfort knowing your guys are always going to be ready to get after it."
Jessup will be back at home next Thursday on December 4th when they face Point Loma Nazarene University with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Sea Lions of San Diego are currently ranked fourth in the nation in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) rankings.
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Jessup University is a member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. 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 (Instagram & X).
