Nelson Warriors Men's Basketball Wins National Championship

Your Nelson Warriors Men's Basketball team (24-6), in only the program's second season, is on top the basketball world, National Champions after defeating the Columbia International University Rams, 89-74, to win the National Christian Collegiate Association of America title at Keeter Gym in Point Lookout, MO.

"I can't easily articulate how I feel right now," gushed head coach Kole Ebert who took over the reins of the program two games into the season. "How I feel right now, I never want to forget. These guys played their hearts out all season. They put it all on the line every play of every game, and it paid off for them. This championship is the fruit of their efforts. They are a team. They are brothers. They are Warriors. The way they carry themselves both on and off the court represent the school and their communities exceptionally. And now, they are forever champions. I feel unbelievable for them."

Ranked #1 (Columbia International) and #2 (Nelson) in the tournament, the two teams battled as the organizing committee hoped they would, playing back-and-forth throughout the entire first half. Down by six, the Warriors used a 15-5 run over 3:26 to take a four-point lead, their largest of the game to that point, but not enough to hold off the Rams just yet. A Christian Howard basket at the buzzer sent the game into halftime tied at 43-all, resolving nothing over the game's first 20 minutes.

"Both teams played pretty well in the first half," noted coach Ebert. "We missed more 3's than I would have liked, and turned the ball over 8 times, but we knew that the Rams were going to play us really tough, and I felt like we withstood the pressure pretty well."

The outcome remained unclear early in the second half, and the match at times even became a little chippy as the tension of the moment began to boil over just a little bit. That is, until the Warriors unleashed several of their patented second half runs which broke the game wide-open.

First a 10-4 run following a Larry Holmes jumper put Nelson back up by six 6:27 into the half. Then, Harley roared his engines. As the team and its fans have grown accustomed, Harley hit a 3, then following a Rams bucket in rebuttal, Rob Jenkins nailed a 3 himself pushing the lead to double-digits for the first time, followed by another Upton 3, and an 11-2 run was capped off by an Upton fastbreak alley-oop assist on a highlight-reel 'Hoppin Holmes slam - all within just 90 seconds.

Now up 15, the final nine minutes became about game management, staying in control of both sides of the ball, and surviving an ever-more desperate Columbia International club. In one final push to close the lead, the Rams began to stretch their defensive pressure nearly full court, swarming the ball, and twice trapping the Warriors just inside halfcourt with about 5 minutes remaining, causing coach Ebert to passionately call back-to-back timeouts to save his team's possessions.

But for every ounce of energy the the Rams used to press, Nelson released it's inner-Warrior spirit, meeting the challenge head on, refusing to succumb to the pressure. At each passing moment, the Nelson men grew stronger in both heart and mind, withstanding one final push including a 5-0 run that cut the lead back down to just 10 points with 5:08 remaining. The gap would never move closer than that, and eventually, when Orlando Gonzales stole the ball with 33 seconds to go, the Warriors found themselves in a position to watch the game clock tick down to zero, and let the emotion of the moment sink in.

Harley Upton and Rob Jenkins played all 40 minutes for with Warriors, with Upton leading the way in scoring, dropping 21 points on 8-16 shooting including 3-6 from beyond the arc, chipping in with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Jenkins achieved a double-double with 20 points, including 4 from distance, and a game-high 11 rebounds, as well as 3 assists and 2 steals. For their efforts both players were named 1st team all-tournament while Harley was named Tournament MVP. On a scorching 56.8% from the field and 47.0% from beyond the arc, Upton averaged 24.0p/5.3r/3.0a pergame while Jenkins shot 42.5%, including 37.5% from 3pt range, averaging 18.7p/7.0r/3.7a.

Orlando Gonzales finished with 16 points, but his defensive help stopped several Rams runs and paved the way for the offense, snagging 4 boards and 3 steals. Zaveion Bineyard was in foul trouble for much of the game, but his presence was well felt on both sides of the ball, finishing with 6 points and 4 rebounds. Terrin Ross too had some foul trouble, but was often a spark-plug on both ends of the floor, finishing with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Larry Holmes led the bench unit with 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, his offensive play often coming at a moment when the team needed a touch of energy, a deciding factor in the game's outcome. Tommy Randolph too effectively handled what the Rams threw at him, scoring 8 points and snagging 4 rebounds in 16 minutes. Petar Lazic grabbed 3 rebounds, but filled in for coach Ebert nicely with two of his starting bigs down at times both due to fouls.

The men's and women's basketball seasons are now both officially over, but baseball and softball remain in full swing! Please check the Nelson University Athletics calender for a schedule events, and don't forget to come out and cheer for your Warriors!

Do not forget to follow Nelson Athletics on X at @NelsonWarriors and Instagram at @nelsonwarriors.athletics.