Nelson Warriors Tame Lion Angels

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Basketball team (15-10) put the rest of their conference on notice, crushing the Bethesda Lion Angels 105-59 at Scott Activity Center in Phoenix, in a game that inched the club closer to a potential conference title, and an automatic berth to the NCCAA National Tournament, what could be their third consecutive appearance.

With that goal in mind, the Warriors came out locked in and never let off the gas, jumping out to an immediate 8-0 lead, before allowing Bethesda to creep to within four points only once (four minutes in), before pushed the margin to double digits soon after, and never looking back. A blistering 20-6 run carried them into halftime up 50-24, then after a slightly longer halftime than usual when the Bethesda team failed to come out of the locker room on time, moments into the second half, the lead ballooned to 30, then 40, before settling at a commanding 46-point final margin.

Nelson played with exceptional pace and cohesion on offense, turning their suffocating defense into easy transition buckets and numerous highlight reel, athletic finishes. Fast-break opportunities led to thunderous dunks—none more electrifying than Jermaine Earnest's pair, including a soaring windmill that sent the home crowd into a roaring frenzy and had the bench erupting.

Defensively, the Warriors were smothering. They crashed the glass hard, out-rebounding Bethesda by 18, and played the passing lanes with season-best awareness, tying their season-high with 19 steals while Bethesda only managed 5. The differences too were noticeable in how smooth the Warriors passed, finding the open shooter for 24 assists, while clogging passing lanes and closing in on shooters so effectively, they allowed just 7 assists. In short, the Lion Angels simply had no answers for Nelson's pressure and length.

Wyatt MacKay was positively en fuego, shooting 11-12 from the field for a season-and-game-high 25 points, to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. Jermaine Earnest turned his game-high 6 steals into 21 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds and a block. Zoe Holman shot 7-14 from the field for 16 points, with 4 assist and and 4 steals. Clavin Windley finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds, while Terrin Ross finished with 6 points and 9 boards. Orlando Gonzalez had a very solid night himself, with 7 points and a game-high 5 assists to go along with 2 steals.

Kenji Cooper led the Lion Angels with 17 points and 5 rebounds, while Shane Sands and Omar Tovar each scored 14 points.

The Warriors' 105 points was a season-high, marking the first time the club had broken the century mark in scoring in almost one calendar year, when they dropped 101 points on the same Bethesda club on February 28, 2025. The Warriors' smothering defense held their opponent under 60 points for the second straight game, with the Lion Angels scoring one more point than Pacific Union managed one week ago.

The victory kept the Warriors in the driver's seat: if they take care of business down the stretch, they can secure the conference championship, and punch their ticket to Nationals for the third straight year. This group is playing its best basketball at the perfect time—fast, physical, connected, and finishing plays with flair.

Up next for the Warriors is this same Bethesda squad on Wednesday, February 11, the second game of a women's/men's double-header with the women tipping off at 5pm and the men beginning at 7pm.