ROCKLIN, Calif. – Jessup men's basketball (14-13, 11-10 PacWest) welcomed the Vanguard Lions (15-11, 12-9 PacWest) to Warrior Arena on Tuesday night, 75-71.

After a long road trip in which the Warriors won two of their three Hawaii matchups, Jessup came back to their home court in Rocklin. The Warriors and the Lions entered Tuesday's matchup both in the middle of the PacWest Conference looking for a late season push into playoffs. 

It was Vanguard who started the game off strong as the Warriors played from behind early. Midway through the first half, the Lions held a 15 point lead which the Warriors worked to erase, 23-8. Wyatt Studer began the comeback with a layup to draw the home team in closer, 23-10. In a rare but profitable opportunity for the Warriors, Tamatoa Humbert went to the line for three free throws and sank all of them, 23-13. Vanguard went into half up double digits, 36-26. 

The Lions worked early to grow their edge to open the second half, however, Jessup swung the momentum five minutes in. A triple from McDaniel at the 15th minute mark put the Warriors within eight, 44-36. Minutes later, the sophomore repeated with another three pointer to put Jessup within seven, 46-39. As the game became further in reach for the Warriors, Studer stole the rock away from the Lion and made a jumper to come within five, 52-47. 

With four minutes left, Tom Parson sank a jump shot to put the home team ahead for the first time since the opening point of the night, 57-56. In the final minutes of regulation, each side exchanged the lead multiple times. Norris and Studer helped to keep Jessup ahead as both teams fought for the edge, 61-60. The Warriors grew their lead to four from a second chance Curro Segura three pointer, 64-60. In the final minute, Vanguard managed to tie the score and send the game into overtime, 66-66. 

In the final period, Vanguard jumped ahead first and did not surrender the lead. Jessup fell to the Lions in overtime, 75-71. McDaniel led both sides in points as he collected a double double performance with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Norris and Parsons both contributed 12 points as Parsons led the team with six boards. 

Head Coach Mark Darnall spoke after the game, "I thought we made some good adjustments in the second half defensively and started to guard them well. I am really proud of our team's resiliency tonight. We were down 10 late and found a way back in it". He continued, "I thought our bench contributed greatly with their 29 points which showed our versatility." Darnall talked about senior night on Saturday, "Big thing is we got senior night coming up and we want to send them off right."

Jessup men's basketball will host their final regular season matchup on Saturday, February 28th. Saturday will also be senior day for the Warriors with tipoff scheduled for 3:30 PM. 

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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).