Warriors Finish Men's/Women's Sweep of Bethesda

The Nelson Warriors' Men's Basketball team (16-10) delivered another dominant, wire-to-wire statement performance, dismantling the Bethesda Lion Angels 96-62 at the Scott Activity Center, for their second straight 30+ point victory and inching closer to a shot at the conference title, and their third straight appears in the NCCAA National Tournament.

"This was a good, strong win," noted head coach Kole Ebert following the game. "We could have ended the game stronger, but credit goes to Bethesda because they refused to give up. They gave us a strong challenge, especially in the second half, and while our guys responded, we could have done better. We'll learn from it as we look towards our final three games."

Echoing their recent blowout over Bethesda, the Warriors exploded out of the gate once again, jumping to a quick 10-0 lead before the crowd had even settled into their seats. The offense flowed effortlessly through Zoe Holman early, he tallied 4 points and 5 assists in the game's first 10 minutes, as Nelson built a commanding 19-3 advantage before stretching it to 23-5. The highlight of the half came with 6:46 remaining when Jermaine Earnest threw down a massive alley-oop from Logan Demarie, the thunderous finish sending the home faithful into a roaring frenzy and sparking chatter that lasted the rest of the night.

Bethesda's Zeke Bennett briefly kept the game from becoming a total rout, catching fire from beyond the arc late in the first half and nailing four straight threes at one stretch. But even with the momentary surge, the deficit remained too large for the Lion Angels to ultimately overcome. Things grew a bit chippy as the lead ballooned, though aside from one Bethesda technical foul, both teams kept composure and headed to the locker room with Nelson comfortably ahead 59-29.

The second half opened with more fireworks, but the kind that cause fans to swoon. Moments into the period, Orlando Gonzales delivered an incredible cross-court alley-oop pass that sailed over the heads of every defender straight to Zoe Holman for another highlight-reel finish. From there, the Warriors cruised, the two teams playing generally equally, with the Warriors holding the edge. Bethesda tightened defensively and tried to claw back, but the lead never dipped below 24 points. Nelson stayed locked in, executed on both ends, and finished strong to secure the 96-62 final.

Terrin Ross overcame a bit of a slow start from the field with a stellar second half that propelled him to his third double-double in four games, finishing with 15 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with 3 assists. Both Gonzales and Holman flirted with triple-doubles for a portion of the game, with Orlando logging 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Zoe notching 10 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Calvin Windley led the Warriors in scoring with 17 points along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, while Wyatt Mackay once again shot extremely efficiently, 6-7 from the field for 15 points, and 6 rebounds. Logan Demarie and Jermaine Earnest provided a strong offensive punch off the bench, the two combining for 18 points and 8-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and Demarie recording 3 steals.

Foe the Lion Angels, Bennett finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals, off the bench, while starter Kenji Cooper muscled up 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Up next for the Warriors will be at the Justice Lions on Friday the 13^th, at 7pm.

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