Warriors Late Charge Comes Up Short

Jan. 28, 2010

Oakland, CA - The William Jessup University Men's team travel to Oakland for a key match-up with the first place Holy Names Hawks. After the struggling in the first half, the Warriors mounted a comeback that would come up just short in a 68-66 loss to the Hawks.

The game started with the Warriors setting the tempo, and jumping out to a 15-7 lead. Then the Warriors went cold as they missed numerous shots around the basket and from the free throw line. The Holy Names bench came in and sparked the Hawks, who went on a 20-0 run to take a 27-15 lead with seven minutes left in the first half. Sophomore Tevin Hurd finally got the Warriors going with a pair of free throws. The Warriors headed into half time down 33-23.

In the second half, the Hawks would extend their lead to 16 with 13 minutes left. However, senior guard Jason Washington would not let the Warriors give up. Washington found ways to get to rim constantly and often. After two free throws by Washington the Hawks lead was cut to 10 with 9:49 left. Washington kept the pressure on, as he hit a lay-up and was fouled with 5:58 remaining. Washington converted the free throw to cut the lead to 58-55. The game was tight from there as each team seemed to have an answer down the stretch. The Warriors would make a surge and cut the Hawks lead to 2 (64-62) with 3:30 left in the game. Holy Names would respond with a 4-0 run, but only to see Jessup have a 4-0 run of their own. With 12 seconds remaining, the Warriors had one more chance to tie or win the game. Kadeem Kirsten would shoot a fade away three pointer as time expired. The shot would hit the left side of the rim and come off, giving the Hawks the victory.

Washington led the Warriors with a game high 23 points. Junior Kadeem Kristen chipped in 14 points of his own. Sophomore Tevin Hurd had a game-high 9 rebounds.

For the Hawks, Joshua Smith finished the game with 14. Johnas Street contributed with 11 points of his own including 7 rebounds.

"Great battle tonight for both teams," said head coach Aaron Muhic. "We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half, but we did a great job of facing some adversity on the road and giving ourselves a chance at the buzzer. We didn't do a lot of things right and still had a chance. We will bounce back and get ready for another tough road game against Pacific Union College."

With the loss, Jessup moves to 9-12 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Holy Names improved to 8-16 overall and 6-0 in league.

The Warriors will travel to Angwin, CA to take on Pacific Union College on Thursday, February 4. The Warriors defeated the Pioneers 74-59 in early January. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30.