Nelson Warriors Jet Past Justice

On the court for the first time since January 31, the Warriors upended the Justice University Lions 100-75, breaking the century mark on offense for the 9^th time this season. Nelson stumbled a little bit out of the gates when Harley Upton committed two quick fouls in the game's first two minutes before picking up a third just five minutes in forcing Coach Kole Ebert to bench one of his top scorers for the rest of the half. Despite the unexpected lineup shift, the Warriors rallied around one another and quickly used an 8-0 run capped off with a Zavieon Bineyard blocked shot and reception of an Orlando Gonzales outlet pass for a gym-shaking dunk that brought the sold out crowd to their feet nearly blowing the roof off. "Losing Harley that early could have really disrupted what we wanted to do," commented Coach Ebert following the game. "But the coaches preach to the guys to play with a 'next man up' mentality and they did that excellently tonight. The guys ran our system about as good as we could have asked for."

The Warriors managed to take a seven-point lead into half despite shooting a poor 43.8% from the field while allowing 53.8% from the Lions. It was in large part however to their success on the boards, especially on the offensive end, as well as an aggressiveness that caught the eyes of the officials, which allowed Nelson to attempt six more shots and five more free throws than the Lions, the difference maker in an otherwise evenly contested match.

The game remained tight through the first eight minutes of the second half, but with a rested and energized Upton back on the court, the team turned on their afterburners using a 25-5 run over just 5:01 to pull ahead by 25 points and put any doubt over the final outcome of the game. History was continued to be made when amidst that run Upton drained two 3-point shots, stretching his season-long (and career-best) streak of making at least one from beyond the arc to 21 games.

Upton led all scorers with 27 points including a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line, along with 5 rebounds and a steal. He succeeded in not committing a single foul in the second half, allowing Coach Ebert to play all 20 minutes after only 6 in the first half. Bineyard had a very balanced night statistically, scoring 23 popints to go with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Jenkins fell just shy of a triple-double, finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, while also providing tremendous energy and acting as the catalyst for several of the games most exciting highlight plays on both sides of the ball. Gonzales finished with a careers-highs in scoring (22 points) and 3-point shots both made and attempted (6-11), along with 5 assists. Terrin Ross and Larry Holmes were excellent on the evening as well, with Ross grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking 2 shots, while Holmes dropped 10 points, dished out 5 assists, and snagged a game-high 3 steals.

Vanti Erving Jr. led the Lions with 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Up next for the Warriors is Nobel University at the Scott Activity Center, the second half in a women's/men's basketball double-header which begins with the women facing off against Nobel at 5pm, before the men tip-off at 7.

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