COSTA MESA, Calif. – Isaac Davis (SR/Valencia, CA) poured in a career-high 25 points and Garrett White (SR/Post Falls, ID) added 24 to lead the Vanguard men's basketball team to an 86-73 victory over William Jessup in the Golden State Athletic Conference opener for both teams Thursday in The Pit.
The duo shot a combined 18 of 30 from the floor and hit several key shots in the second half to keep the Warriors at bay. Vanguard also ended a six-game losing streak against the Warriors.
Davis added five assists and four rebounds, and made four of his five three-point attempts. White hit a pair of threes, finishing with his third 20-point effort in five games.
Reserve center Andre Allen (SR/Los Angeles, CA) played 11 effective and efficient minutes with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting. He also pulled down four rebounds as the Lions owned a 34-24 edge on the glass.
Phillip Willis (JR/San Diego, CA) had seven points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Vanguard shot 51.5 (34-of-66) percent for the game and committed a season-low seven turnovers. The Lions scored 17 points off of 14 William Jessup turnovers.
William Jessup was led by Matthew Schmidt with 17 points.
What Happened?: The Lions came out aggressive, hitting four of their first five shots for an early 9-6 lead. After a brief lull, the VU bench scored 13 of the team's next 15 points to maintain the three-point advantage at 24-21 with 8:41 to go in the first half. Allen had six of his points during that stretch. Nico Dasca (JR/Costa Mesa, CA) also contributed a traditional three-point play.
The Warriors got within 26-25 on a bucket by Jayden DeJoseph, but the Lions stiffened and built the lead back up to seven, 39-32, on a Davis triple.
Davis ended up scoring eight straight late in the first half to boost the lead to nine a 44-35. After Malik Corey sank two free throws to bring the Warriors within seven, Willis responded with a layup to give Vanguard a 46-37 advantage at the break.
Schmidt cut the deficit to five at 50-45 with 16:26 to go in the game, but the Lions ran off 10 straight over a 2:41 span to go up 60-45. Davis and White accounted for eight of those points during the run.
The Warriors, who entered the game 6-0, did not go down without a fight. They took out a large chunk of that lead with an 11-1 run, helped along by a pair of Jayden DeJoseph triples.
A dunk from Myles Corey allowed William Jessup to creep within three, 63-60 with 7:47 remaining.
But the Lions imposed their will from that point, and got big buckets from White, Allen and Davis down the stretch. White's three pushed Vanguard's lead to 66-60, and again to 71-63 on another triple. Allen's thunderous dunk got the VU faithful on their feet as the lead expanded double digits at 74-63. White's layup with 4:29 to go and a three from Davis at the 3:18 mark kept the lead at 11, 79-68.
Vanguard, which shot 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from three in the second half, got a back breaking trey from Willis with 2:43 remaining to give the Lions an 82-69 lead.
The Warriors eventually trailed by as much as 17.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions open up GSAC play 1-0 and defeated a William Jessup squad which had handled No. 13 Oregon Tech twice in the span of a week. Vanguard also won its third in a row.
What's Next?: GSAC play continues on Saturday when Menlo visits The Pit for a 2:00 p.m. tip. The Lions and Oaks women open the doubleheader at noon.
