Warriors Complete a Tough Road Trip

There are many different levels of play in sports, and basketball is no different. Every division above yours means that the competition is stronger, making the challenge even more difficult to surpass.

Last week, the Warriors found themselves on the road, playing three games in five nights.

On Tuesday night, the Westcliff men's basketball team faced an NCAA Division I school in Cal State Fullerton that was on a four-game win streak.

The challenge wasn't easy, but you have to embrace it in order to learn from it and get better. 

Westcliff found themselves down big in the first half, and although they were evenly matched in the second, it wasn't enough for a final score of 78-57.

A 180-degree turnaround from their previous shooting percentage, the Warriors ended up shooting 35.8% from the field, and 23.5% from 3-point.

Early foul struggles and turnovers led Westcliff to find themselves from behind in the first half. On top of that, they couldn't buy a basket and had many missed shots from both inside and outside the arc.

But just like the previous game against Chapman, the Warriors came out of the locker room and played a solid second half.

They got good contributions from Gary Harris, who finished with a game-high of 15 points, while shooting 45% from the field. Their second-leading scorer was Micaiah Hankins with 14 points, shooting 57% from the floor, and a perfect 100% from the free throw line.

Head coach Jerred Cook shared his thoughts after the game: "We did not come ready to play the first half and made errors that led to a lopsided result after 20 mins. In the second half, we outscored our opponents and definitely played more within our principles."

Westcliff faced off in their next game against Colorado Christian University, an NCAA Division II school.

The Warriors battled hard against the Cougars, and were led by the contributions of Gary Harris. He scored 13 points with five rebounds, an assist, and one block.

The numbers will show that Westcliff was ahead in rebounds, assists, points in the paint, Fastbreak points, and bench points.

Unfortunately, the Warriors couldn't sustain their early lead and lost in a competitive match, 68-60.

"Our team is still in the early stages of developing our identity on the court, it is a process where our student-athletes will need to continue to stay in principles and build habits that lend to our success," Cook said.  

"Our team gets better every day that we are together on the court. Our attention to detail, ability to play in principle, and team chemistry will all help our team start and sustain our style of play." 

The last road trip game was on Saturday evening against Colorado School of Mines.

The Warriors were able to stay on par with their opponent during the first half, and even took the lead 33-30 with 4:16 left.

But a tough second half which ended with a game-high 17 turnovers was too much to overcome for a final score of 86-59.

"I'm not too much into moral victories but we schedule this way for a reason," Cook said. "The ability to match up with top-level competition allows for our team to learn from those that play on the highest level.

"This is our warm-up trip to a long conference season that will include trips just like this. Excited for the time we will all spend together on and off the court. The takeaway is that we can still be a lot better."

The Warriors will play again on the road on December 1st at 7:00 PM against Pacific Union.