Riddle Me This: Warriors Exceed Expectations Against Embry Eagles

Opening night went pretty much to script for the Nelson Warriors tonight as they busted through the season-opening gate for a wire-to-wire 97-71 victory over the visiting Embry-Riddle Eagles before the traditional standing room only crowd. An explosive first half in scoring by Michael DeHorney who's 14 points paced all scorers in the first twenty minutes, led to a double-digit lead within the first five minutes that the home team would generally hold onto throughout the night. Coach Scott Mossman squad shot nearly perfectly from the field in the early stages setting the tone for the game, specifically 15-20 from inside the arc.

The Nelson squad faced some early second half adversity when the Eagles opened the stanza strong, cutting the Warriors' double-digit lead down to just seven points. Unfazed, the Warriors went to work on both ends of the floor disrupting Embry possessions leading to 13 second half turnovers, 21 for the game, and forcing poor shot selection, holding their opponent to just 35.5% from the field on the night. The Warriors' offense built of their defense as their aggressive up-tempo style sought defensive weaknesses and mismatches regularly culminating in shots at the basket re-building their lead back to a safe margin before ultimately blowing the doors off the barn and a 27-point advantage  in the game's waning minutes.

Coach Mossman cited his team's patience throughout which allowed his club to post such a strong victory over their cross-town rival. "Key for the win tonight was shot selection. If you don't miss shots the other team cannot rebound and begin their fastbreak game. When we take, and make, good shots we can immediately set our defense and put pressure on them which in turn keeps them on edge."

Harley Upton led all participants with his game-high 31 points, including 19 in the second half, draining 6-8 from beyond the arc for an all-around impressive performance. Michael DeHorney menaced his opposition for 27 points on 12-14 and 3 steals, regularly wreaking havoc on both ends of the floor, while also energizing the crowd with two highlight dunks. Zaveion Bineyard (19 points) and Rob Jenkins (13 points) each further led their Warriors with 6 rebounds and 7 assists, respectively.

Peter Dress led the visiting Eagles with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Noah Grifft shot 8-10 from the charity stripe for 17 points.

Next up for the Nelson Warriors is Park University at Scott Activity Center on November 1, at 7pm.