Friday The 13th Scare

Friday, November 13

Riverside, Calif.

7:00 PM

California Baptist University

4-0

Cal State Dominguez Hills

0-1

Cal State Dominguez

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

11/13/2015 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — On the 13th meeting between Cal State Dominguez Hills and California Baptist University — on Friday the 13th no less — it came down to the wire. It may have been a little scare for those in attendance, but the No. 11-ranked Lancers defended their house with a 75-72 victory in the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge tournament, sponsored by Riverside County EDA.

CBU improves to 4-0, keeping its record unblemished, while the Toros open the season 0-1.

Michael Smith led the Lancers with 20 points on the night, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-5 at the charity stripe. Kalidou Diouf followed with 14 points, including perfect 4-for-4 shooting at the line, while Taj Spencer wasn't far off with 13 points (4-for-7) and six rebounds.

Gelaun Wheelwright put his streak of scoring in double figures into double-digits (10) as he finished with 10 points (3-for-13) on the night.

Diouf opened with the first bucket of the night, but the Toros responded back. CSUDH seemed to have an answer for most of the first half as the two teams tied the game seven times in the first 20 minutes.

Down 28-27, Jordan Giusti laid the ball into the hoop to put his team in front and spark a 9-0 run. Spencer's two shots at the line capped the run, sending the two teams into the locker rooms with the score at 36-28 in favor of CBU.

Like he had in the first half, Diouf scored the first two points in the second half, showing his strength at the post to give the Lancers their first double-digit lead of the night.

The Toros cut it back down into single digits, but back-to-back two-pointers from Diouf put CBU back in control 42-30. With 18:25 left on the clock, however, there was still a lot of time for CSUDH to battle back.

It did just that, slicing a 14-point lead (44-30) to a single possession lead, 46-43.

CBU built it back up to double-digits, thanks in part to a combination of Spencer, Wheelwright and Marquise Mosley's efforts. Spencer had to keep a ball in play, but looked to toss it out of bounds. Wheelwright showed off his hops to keep it in play and hurl it over to Mosley, who was fouled attempting a three-pointer. The freshman guard finished all three chances at the charity stripe, putting CBU up 58-48.

Once again, however, CSUDH clawed its way back into the mix, going on a 10-0 run to even the score at 58-58 with eight minutes to play.

It came down to the wire as the two teams headed down the stretch, with CBU holding a slight 66-62 advantage. Giusti dished out a perfect bounce pass to Spencer with three minutes remaining, allowing Spencer to bank it in off the glass to put the Lancers up 72-64.

CSUDH kept fighting and made things interesting, driving to cut the score to just two points, 72-70, with 1:17 left on the clock. Smith gave CBU some wiggle room by laying it in himself, but the Toros drew a foul and put the score back within a possession at 74-72.

As the Toros tried to foul to get the ball back with less than 15 seconds left in the game, Giusti was sent to the line. He finished one shot to put the pressure on the visitors to score at least a three-pointer in hopes of extending the game. CBU wouldn't let CSUDH get a good look, however, as the Toros missed their final opportunity of the night to secure the CBU victory, 75-72.

The Lancers turn right around to close the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge, sponsored by Riverside County EDA, Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., hosting Cal State L.A. — which lost 88-80 to Holy Names in the tournament opener.