January 10, 2022

Warriors Enter Cal Pac with a Statement

By: SID Chase Dodge

What Happened? Saturday the 8th, Westcliff Warriors (3-5, 1-0) faced a tough opponent in Antelope Valley Pioneers (8-10, 0-1). This was Westcliff's first conference game in the Cal Pac. The 1st Half started out competitive with both sides gaining and losing the lead at multiple points. 5 minutes left in the half the Warriors started to gain a lead of 7 points. Halftime with a score of 36-30 the Warriors would hold the lead for the rest of the game. The Pioneers however off of turnovers were able tostay close within 2 points down the stretch. The Final Score of the game Westcliff Warriors 75-73 Antelope Valley Pioneers. 

Why was this Important? Westcliff being in their 1st year in conference play were not projected to finish high by the Cal Pac. Westcliff was projected to finish 10th out of 11 teams. Westcliff faced Antelope Valley who was projected to finish at No. 1. This was a Big win for the program not only was it a win against one of the toughest teams in the Cal Pac. It was also the program's first ever conference win. 

Coach Cook had these words to say about his player's performance. As well as where to improve their play:

Coaches' Word

"First off, in times like this it's a blessing to be able to get on the court healthy.
 
A moment we will never get back; first team in Westcliff history to ever compete in the Cal Pac game. After competing in a grueling non conference schedule capped off with D1 Long Beach state earlier in the week, our team had carried over the confidence from facing previous adversity , lessons , and have grown closer as a unit. 
 
We were fortunate to come out on top last night vs a really good team in UAV. We have to take better care of the basketball and convert from the free throw line .
 
Stand out players tonight were Josh Harrison, Josh Jones, Marius Ntwari paced us all night with their ability to make plays . Both Josh's got to their spots all night while Marius was dominant force inside the paint with his scoring and rebounding.
Down the stretch , guys stepped up and made big time plays including including J Reed and Cedric's late buckets." 
 
Game Expectations: "I expected to see the best versions of ourself out on the court tonight. Lack of focus with ball security and free throws could have cost the game . I challenged guys recently to start to show their  identity on their court and the type of team we want to be. With a heavy emphasis on boxing out and securing the rebound in practice , we did a better job of translating to the game. So much room to grow, so much more work to be done."  
 
 Lessons to Learn: "We will watch film to assess how we can make improvements both offensively & defensively. A lot of shooting as we will need to be better from free throw and 3pt range. Continue to build our chemistry and cohesiveness overall so we can reach overall goal.
 
Top Performers
Joshua Harrison - 20 Points, 8 Rebounds and 5 Assists
Joshua Jones - 15 Points and 8 Rebounds
Marius Ntwari - 14 Points and 9 Rebounds
Abdul Abdullah - 8 Points and 6 Rebounds
 
What's Next? Westcliff Warriors (3-5, 1-0) will face in another conference match up against La Sierra (4-8, 0-0) on Thursday the 13th, 5:30 PM at the Jordan Lawley Facility.