Warriors Men's Basketball Falls Short Despite Furious Comeback

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Basketball team continued their championship defense with a valiant comeback effort at the Simpson University Red Hawks, but falling just short in their second game of the season, 80-76 in a thriller that came down to the wire.

The Red Hawks jumped out to a shocking 16-2 lead less than five minutes after the opining tip, then pushed their lead to as many as 26 points in a lopsided first half.

"I am not at all pleased with how we started the game," lamented coach Ebert. "The Red Hawks came out pumped up their homecoming crowd, and we failed to rise to their level of intensity. They took control of the game early and earned their big lead."

However, as fans have come to expect, there is no gap too deep to be overcome, and with the heart of a champion and the spirit of a Warrior, the Nelson men ended the first half on a 10-3 run, then mounted a furious second-half rally with a dominant 34-12 run over an 11-minute stretch to claw back to within two points, 76-74, when Calvin Windley hit an acrobatic layup with 1:42 remaining.

The surge positioned Nelson for a potential tie or lead in the final 90 seconds, but three critical three-point attempts by Chase Pavey (3p/1a), Calvin Windley (7p/6r), and Zoe Holman (9p/8r), each failed to hit their mark in a frantic closing minute. With only second remaining, Simpson's Dylan Harms iced the game with two clutch free throws, allowing the Red Hawks to escape with the win.

Orlando Gonzales delivered a career night to fuel the resurgence, erupting for a game-high 25 points on 8-19 shooting and 6-12 from beyond the arc, including a scorching 20 points on 6-12 from the field and 5-9 from three in the second half alone. Keron Bailey provided strong support with 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Terrin Ross chipped in 10 points and 4 boards in a balanced effort.

"We can learn a lot from tonight's loss," opinioned coach Ebert. "Teams who regularly fall behind by as much as we did tonight do not win championships. But we learned something about ourselves; about focus; about effort; and about resiliency. If we consistently play for 40 minutes the way we played for the final 25 minutes, we're going to positions ourselves to have the opportunity to reach the goals that we have set out for ourselves this season."

Both squads committed 13 turnovers apiece, but Simpson capitalized more effectively, turning Nelson's miscues into 15 points compared to the Warriors' 7 off Red Hawk errors.

The Red Hawks were led in scoring by Timothy Parker's 21 points and Nian Allen's 20, while Aidan Rolfs nearly missed out on a double-double, finishing with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

The two squads split the 2024-25 season series 1-1, a mark the Warriors hope to replicate when the two titans clash again in Phoenix on January 29.

Up next for the Warriors will be at Benedictine (Mesa) at 7pm on Tuesday November 4, the third game of a five-game road trip to open the defending championship campaign.

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