ROCKLIN, Calif. – Heart palpitations were once again on the menu tonight, as Vanguard (15-11, 11-9) needed overtime to overcome the Warriors of Jessup (14-13, 11-10) by a count of 75-71.
The Lions had four players in double figures, with Bryson Metz and Erik Howlin each notching 20—the first time this season the duo has accomplished the feat. Aibigho Ujadughele had 13pts/9reb/3stls to anchor the perimeter, while Sammy Howlin held down the interior with his 10pts/15reb (8 OREB).
The Blue and Gold led for 37:18 of the ballgame, with the margin ballooning to as many as 15 halfway through the first stanza.
Jessup was spearheaded by Cayden McDaniel's 24 points, with their bench giving a major boost when they needed it, outscoring VU 22-3 in the second-half in that department.
What Happened?:
With the playoff picture still murky for the PacWest, this game offered much clarity in terms of what it meant for each team's postseason chances. With a dogfight being expected, each side came out with no holds-barred.
Erik Howlin provided a quick jolt to the guests with an emphatic slam in the first fifty seconds, to give VU a lead that they would hold until late in the second-half. In the meantime, though, the Lions would steady their way through the physical play by pressuring the paint and taking the appropriate inside-out threes when available. Continued layups by Metz and the Howlin brothers were the main dosage, with Tony Colley opening up the downtown column. Metz then joined Colley in that regard a few minutes later with a nasty combination of sudden movements that made his defender touch Earth, helping VU to an 18-8 lead entering the under-12 media.
Pape Cisse joined the scoring department fresh out of the timeout with a textbook post-move that saw him show off fancy-footwork, before Metz had a heat-check triple rattle home to give the visitors their largest lead of the night at 23-8. But Jessup would stay in the fight thanks to Cayden McDaniel's 11 first-half points. His flurry of moves would rebuttal any Vanguard advances, and the halftime score rested at 36-26 in favor of VU.
Out of the respite, Metz showed no signs of cooling down, draining two more triples heading into the first media timeout (VU, 44-33). Over the next few minutes of game time, however, the game would slow to a crawl with fouls, and each team only mustered up six points over the next five minutes. At the 10:09 mark in a 12-point game, it was finally Jessup's move to use the homecrowd to their advantage, as an 11-0 run made it a brand-new ball game with under eight to play. Vanguard's 18.2% from deep in the second period was on full display during this stretch, as the Lions struggled to get back to the interior. Jessup finally broke the seal on a layup with 4:47 left to give themselves their first lead since it was 1-0 in the first 30 seconds.
From there, the game looked to be well within the hosts' grasp. With Vanguard down four and 2:05 left, Erik Howlin drained two clutch free-throws, with Boogie then stripping his man and going coast-to-coast to tie the game twenty seconds later. Cayden McDaniel answered with a layup of his own, but Erik Howlin once again muscled his way to paydirt to send the game into overtime on an interior finish of his own.
The extra frame was once again the Howlin brothers' show, as the two smashed the glass to gain extra possessions, earn their ways to the charity stripe, and milk the clock with their efforts. With the game at 69-68 in favor of VU, Boogie had almost a carbon-copy of his clutch steal-and-score late in regulation, only this time, it was to give the Blue and Gold a three-point lead. After another defensive stop, Tony Colley followed up his own miss with a putback to put Vanguard up by five with 59 seconds to go. A Metz steal with 51 seconds left forced Jessup to make a choice defensively. In the midst of the chaos, they chose to play for a stop, which they indeed got by forcing Erik Howlin to miss. However, he corralled the o-board to give Vanguard 19 on the night (2nd-most this season), and the foul game aided VU to victory from there.
Of note: It was the first time Vanguard has won in Rocklin since January 11, 2018 (85-80).
Most importantly, tonight gives Vanguard a stable leg to stand on in the PacWest race, as they are one of four teams that are tied for 5th place at 11-9, with VU owning the head-to-head tiebreakers over Dominican and CUI who are in that congestion. Still, only Point Loma has clinched a tournament spot, with Vanguard being able to finish as high as 2nd or as low as 10th in the tight squabble towards the top-six.
What Was Said?: "This game had a playoff atmosphere, and both teams played well enough to win," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "I thought we made enough plays on the glass and defensively forcing turnovers to hang in there when we were struggling offensively. Boogie made some huge defensive plays down the stretch, and anytime Erik and Bryson both get 20-- that's a good recipe for our team. Sammy was huge with big finishes in the paint and cleaning the glass for us. It is going to take another great effort at Fresno on Thursday against a really good team."
What's Next?: VU makes their second stop of their immense three-game NorCal trip by trekking down to Fresno Pacific (13-13, 12-8) on Thursday (7:30pm) for a marquee battle that figures to heavily implicate the PacWest postseason picture, as FPU currently sits a game ahead of Vanguard in 4th place. The Lions beat FPU in December at home earlier this season.
