Warriors End Season with Semi-Finals Loss against Blue Hawks

After the first round upset against Viterbo, the Warriors competed against Dickinson State for the semi-finals of the NSAA Conference Tournament. In a close game throughout, the Warriors came up short 74-79.

"Really proud of this group. It was a rollercoaster of a season," Head Coach Nigel Jenkins stated. "We played hard and came up short tonight. Led most of the game and some things didn't go our way down the stretch, but we were still in a good position late in the game."

The Blue Hawks scored first to start the game, but Justin Wiggins (SO/West Palm Beach, FL) tied the game shortly after. Tyree'on Johnson (SR/Coon Rapids, MN) and Khyle Washington (JR/Atlanta, GA) combined for six points before the Blue Hawks go up by nine points.

Johnson stopped the run with two points and Fredery Cuello (JR/New York, NY) drained a three to get more momentum going on offense. The Blue Hawks responded with a 3-pointer of their own.

Wiggins made a jump shot to bring the game within one, 21-22, with five and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

Dickinson State went up by five points. Noah Miller (SO/Forest City, IA) made two free-throws and Washington added two more.

With about one minute left, Wiggins came up big with a three to take the lead for the first time this half. Johnson closed out the half by grabbing an offensive rebound and dunk to keep the lead. The Warriors were up 32-28.

Johnson and Wiggins opened the second half with 11 straight points to extend the lead 43-37. The Warriors kept the lead for the entire half until the last five minutes.

Khalil Grayson (SO/Milwaukee, WI) hits a three and Johnson added two to stay up 53-47. Just under 10 minutes left, Cuello drained a three to get up by six.

With 4:52 left, the Blue Hawks tied the game at 62 and kept the lead for the remainder. The Warriors had three players foul out and lost 74-79.

"We just didn't capitalize. It's going to suck not having Ty with us moving forward. He had an outstanding career, and I couldn't be happier to have coached him," said Jenkins.

In his final game, Johnson had a team high of 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He went 9-13 from the field and 6-7 from the free-throw line. Wiggins added 14 points and Washington tallied 13, with six rebounds and three assists.

The Warriors close out their season with a 9-19 overall record and 5-10 in NSAA conference play.