Warriors Bounce Back to Beat Banana Slugs

by BRANDON PETERSEN

While the 49ers and Rams were reigniting California's geographic NFL rivalry, Westcliff men's basketball was hosting its own NorCal/SoCal showdown Sunday at Jordan Lawley Center.

After a sloppy performance Saturday in which the Warriors felt they gave one away, Sunday was a complete turnaround as Westcliff took control early in the second half and never looked back in a 70-64 win over UC Santa Cruz.

"It was a much-needed win," Westcliff head coach Jerred Cook said. "We needed to get that sour taste out of our mouth. We have been beating ourselves, but today we learned from our mistakes, buckled down together against a very tough UC Santa Cruz team."

The Joshes, Jones and Harrison, continued to impress for Westcliff as Jones dropped 19 and Harrison added 10, plus seven boards, two assists and a steal.

Abdul Abdullah had the performance of the game, however, a 21-point, 12 -rebound masterpiece that included 10-of-16 shooting from the floor.

Abdullah was set up time and again by some incredible passing, especially from Harrison and Cameron Snyder, who, in little over a year, has worked all the way from the development squad to earning meaningful minutes in big time contests like Sunday's.

"Huge, huge, man, and it's a testament to his hard work, his trust in the program – everything we have to offer him – and he just believed in it whole-heartedly," Cook said. "I told him it was going to be hard to find minutes unless he did X, Y, Z. He took that to heart, he worked during the COVID year, he came back ready to compete, and he has gained his confidence.

"We trust him, and the players believe in him as well."

Snyder ended the contest with five points, three dimes, two boards and a steal. He took a big-hit charge under the basket for a turnover and fired off a no-look beauty moments later for an assist to Greg Walter Jr.

Speaking of Walter Jr. (six points, four rebounds), the wing contributed meaningful minutes as well, knocking down some big-time shots including a three during the decisive run in the second half.

Adofo Thomas (three assists) continued to play nearly perfect point guard, scoring eight and committing just one turnover in 32 minutes.

"It was definitely a team effort," Cook said. "I liked the inside production we got from Abdul. I like the steady balance that we got from both of our Joshes, and Adofo makes plays, J-Reed (Jordan Reed) makes plays, Cameron came off and made some nice plays as well."

Up next, Westcliff (6-9, 3-4 Cal Pac) makes its way to Arizona for back-to-back-to-back contests, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Park-Gilbert, Benedictine Mesa, and Embry-Riddle, respectively.

To contact Brandon Petersen, e-mail brandonpetersen@westcliff.edu.