Warriors Men's Basketball Fly Past Eagles in California

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Basketball team (12-8) extended their red-hot streak to five straight wins with a commanding 93-71 road victory over the West Coast Baptist Eagles in Lancaster, CA, completing a clean home-and-home sweep that began at the Scott Activity Center on January 8.

From the opening tip, Nelson was ready to run. Zoe Holman drained a three-pointer just 17 seconds in, followed soon after by a 12-3 run that quickly built a nine-point cushion midway through the first half. The Eagles fought back late in the stanza with a 20-10 spurt of their own, trimming what had been a 14-point lead down to four with 3:07 left. But Holman answered back, going on a personal tear to score 7 of Nelson's final 10 points of the half and restore a double-digit edge at 46-36 heading into the break.

The Warriors were relentless defensively in the opening 20 minutes, holding West Coast Baptist to just 10 made field goals and a dismal 28.6% shooting from the field. That aggressive mindset carried over after halftime, as Nelson continued to push the pace, dominate the glass 42-28, and create havoc with 14 steals to the Eagles' 5.

After the second half began, the outcome was never in serious doubt. The Warriors maintained control throughout, building the lead to as many as 26, turning the game into another statement victory in the second half of the season, and marking their third consecutive victory by 20 or more points—the longest such streak since they went 6-0 in February 2025, each by 20+.

This five-game winning run has come on the heels of a four-game skid that dropped Nelson two games below .500. Since then, the offense has caught fire, averaging 89.4 points per game, a tremendous 21.7-point improvement over the losing stretch. The team is clicking on both ends, playing with confidence, depth, and purpose, and hopefully peaking at the right time, with just eight games remaining in the regular season.

Zoe zapped the Eagles for a new season-high 27 points. Holeman has taken a huge step forward with his offense over the last six games, taking the team lead in that category, scoring 20+ in five of those for a 21ppg average on a blistering 55.8% shooting average. Defensively Holeman was equally as dominant, snagging 5 rebounds, but snagging 5 steals as well, his tenth game this season with 3-or-more steals, for a season average of 2.7 per game.

Wyatt Mackay was equally as impressive on both ends of the floor, finishing with 18 points, just off his season-high, with 5 rebounds, and a season-high-tying 3 steals.

Calvin Windley finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds, while Jermaine Earnest put together 14 of the most efficient minutes in school-history, nearly recording a double-double in limited minutes off the bench, finishing with 10 points on 5-8 shooting and 7 rebounds, including a game-high-tying 3 offensive snags. Terrin Ross struggled from the field, but still put together a complete score card, finishing with 7 points, 10 boards, including 3 offensive caroms, each to go along with 2 assists and 2 steals.

Davian Brooks led West Coast Baptist with 19 points, while Leny Ranchin recorded a 17-point and 11-rebound double-double.

The Nelson men will look to continue their hot streak when they hope to stretch their win-streak to six games when they take on Nobel University in Los Angeles on Saturday January 24, at 2pm. The Warriors return home to open a four-game homestand on Thursday January 29, when they take on the Simpson Red Hawks at 7:30pm.

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