Warriors Fall to Firestorm

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Basketball team (7-6) put up a fierce fight on the road against No. 2 Arizona Christian but ultimately fell 80-72 in a hard-fought and competitive battle, a hopeful sign for Warriors fans of the potential of a squad finally back at full strength.

"It was great having everyone available for a change," noted head coach Kole Ebert following the game. "It takes time to build cohesion and we haven't yet had that opportunity. Tonight wasn't the outcome that we were hoping for, but the guys stayed together and played well. We didn't make too many big mistakes and over time we're going to work hard to get to where we want to be."

The Firestorm nearly led wire-to-wire, following a brief 2-2 tie in the early moments of the game. However, while they quickly pulled ahead by 13, the lead never ballooned much beyond there (reaching 14 points early in the second half), and if not for a 17-4 run over the first five minutes, the Warriors out-scored their opponents by 5 points over the game's final 35 minutes. The Nelson men slowly clawed back to within four points with 3:39 remaining, but could not manage to climb over the hump to complete the comeback.

As coach Ebert noted, tonight was the first time in over three weeks that the Warriors had their entire roster together, and the seeds of strengthening chemistry showed in stretches. Nelson shot a crisp 45.6% from the field (while holding ACU to just 41.9%) and controlled the glass 38-34. But Arizona Christian's scorching perimeter attack proved the difference, as the Firestorm drained 14-of-36 from deep while the Warriors connected on just 7-of-17.

All five Nelson starters reached double figures, led by Keron Bailey's 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks, with four logging at least 32 minutes (Zoe Holman sat for less than one minute) in a gritty, high-effort performance that kept the game within reach. Arizona Christian, however, leaned on their depth, rotating fresh bodies to maintain energy and eventually pull away late.

Holman finished with 13 points on 6-15 from the field, grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists. Orlando Gonzales dropped 13, while grabbing 4 boards and sneaking 3 steals, tying Terrin Ross for the team (and game-time), who also scored 12 points and grabbed 7 caroms. Clavin Windley rounded-out the starting five with 10 points.

For the Firestorm, Zack Reighard led all scorers with 25 points, while Shaud Bradley finished with 17 points and 8 assists. Former Nelson Warriors Mikey DeHorney just missed a double-double, finishing with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

Up next for the Warriors is at Ottawa University this Saturday the 13^th at 7pm, before travelling to Kilo, Hawaii for a brief two-game tournament.

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