Inclement Weather

Monday, January 19

St. George, UT

6:30 PM

California Baptist University

14-2/8-1

Dixie State

11-5/8-2

Cal Baptist

Dixie State

Photo by: Sammi Wellman

1/19/2015 8:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

ST. GEORGE, Utah — In the midst of a tough stretch of games, No. 11 California Baptist University knew it was in for a battle at Dixie State Monday night. Just like it had on Saturday against Point Loma, it came down to the wire.

Unfortunately, this time the outcome didn't end in CBU's favor as the Red Storm took the game 82-79. With the loss, the Lancers fall to 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the PacWest, while the Red Storm improve to 11-5 and 8-2 in conference.

Gelaun Wheelwright led three Lancers in double figures with 24 points on the night (7-for-17). Taj Spencer followed with 21 points (9-for-12) and also added 13 rebounds for the double-double. Eividas Petrulis rounded out the trio with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

Despite scoring the first points of the night off a Taj Spencer layup, CBU couldn't quite shake off the Red Storm in the first half. Every time the Lancers went up, DSU was right on their heels, slowly trying to take control of the game.

Michael Smith gave CBU its biggest lead of the half, driving to the basket to put the Lancers up by seven at 24-17. Still, Dixie State wasn't going to give up and walked into halftime holding a 40-33 margin.

The Lancers—who overcame a 31-25 halftime margin against Point Loma on Saturday—came out of the break determined to turn things around. Spencer once again scored the first two points of the half and put CBU within six at 46-40.

With still plenty of time left in the game, the Lancers stayed with the Red Storm and waited to make their push.

Down 60-48 with just under 11 minutes left, Spencer started a 6-1 run to cut the lead under double-digits at 61-54. Seconds later, Chris Brown made a layup and then stole the ball away to give Wheelwright the opportunity to hit a shot from distance, putting the score at 63-59 to force a DSU timeout.

The Red Storm tried to keep the Lancers at bay, but CBU kept plugging away as the clock wound down.

Trailing 77-70 with three minutes remaining in the contest, Berg hit a jumper and Spencer grabbed a crucial defensive board to keep the Red Storm off the glass. Wheelwright followed with two points of his own, once again bringing the game within one possession at 77-74.

Brown made a big time three-pointer to build intensity as 24 seconds were left on the clock and CBU was down 78-77. The Lancers fouled but DSU made both. Spencer scored two to put it once again within one point, 80-79.

Back at the line, the Red Storm finished both their shots to put pressure on the Lancers to make a three to force overtime. The 2.9 seconds wasn't enough to get the three points it needed as DSU held on for the 82-79 win.

CBU gets no rest from tough challengers, heading to Point Loma on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. The Lancers and Sea Lions will square off on national television as the game will be broadcast on the Fox Sports Network.