Saturday, November 14
Riverside, Calif.
7:00 PM
California Baptist University
5-0
82
vs
41
Cal State L.A.
0-2
1
2
F
Cal State L.A.
20
21
41
California Baptist
44
38
82
Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez
Heading To Victory
11/14/2015 9:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Coming off a close game the night before, No. 11-ranked California Baptist University gave no doubt in Van Dyne as it powered through to its largest margin of victory since 2009, beating Cal State L.A. 82-41.
The win closes the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge, sponsored by the Riverside County EDA, putting the Lancers at a perfect 5-0 overall. The Golden Eagles move to 0-2 in their young season.
Jordan Heading had a career night, finishing with 19 points (7-for-11, 5-for-8 from three-point range).
"Heading has been ready to go since the first game," said head coach Rick Croy. "He plays with tremendous confidence and he's really getting better defensively."
Michael Smith added 13 points off 6-for-10 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds. Taj Spencer closed out the three Lancers in double figures with 11 points (5-for-9), while Gelaun Wheelwright was one off of keeping his streak going, ending with nine points (4-for-12).
Jordan Giusti dished out five assists without turning over the ball once and added five steals to help force the Golden Eagles to turn the ball over 24 times.
"When we commit defensively, that's when we're at our best," said Croy. "I think our guys knew we weren't totally committed defensively Friday night, even though we didn't really talk about it. On a good team, sometimes things don't always have to be talked about, they need to be acted upon and our guys acted on that tonight."
No Cal State L.A. player finished in double-digits as the Lancers played tough defense and held the opposition to just a 29.5 shooting percentage.
CBU was dominant from tip off as Kalidou Diouf won the free ball and laid in the first two points of the night. The Lancers didn't allow the Golden Eagles to make a single bucket until over five minutes into the contest, meanwhile going on a 15-point rampage, drawing multiple charges, to take an early 15-0 lead.
"When we pressure, it usually leads to good offense," said Croy. "You have the most control over the defensive end of the floor. You have to put in the time and get better offensively, but you're not always in control with that."
CBU quickly turned a single-digit lead into a 10-point lead and even 20-point lead before breaking into the 30s with 3:33 left on the clock before halftime. Heading sank a three-point shot to put the Lancers up 40-10 off an assist from Wheelwright.
With still a lot of basketball left on the clock, the Golden Eagles had time to try to cut away at the lead, but the Lancers went into halftime with a 44-20 lead, hoping to keep building momentum.
"It's always difficult to play with a lead, but you have to learn how to do it," said Croy. "You don't want to play in close games every night if you want to be dominant on your home floor."
Cal State L.A. tried to hang with CBU, but just couldn't keep up with the Lancers. Alexander Birketoft put his team back in front by 30, draining a high-arching shot from the top of the three-point line. Smith found Marquise Mosley under the basket to make it a 32-point cushion, 62-30.
"Marquise is definitely finding his rhythm," Croy said.
The Golden Eagles turned on high pressure, but Giusti and the Lancers were too fast to get over the half line and threatening on offense once more.
Mosley put the final dagger in the game by sinking a deep three-point shot before CBU closed the game with the 82-41 victory — the largest scoring margin in the Croy era.
"I think every time you play in a close game, you learn a lot about your team," said Croy. "We've been fortunate to win the close games we've been in. We're learning more and more about our team and what we need to do moving forward to take the steps we need to be a team that competes in March. We have a long way to go, but we have good leadership on our team and we have guys where this journey means a whole lot to them."
CBU will look to bring what it's learned on Thursday as it takes on another CCAA team in Cal State East Bay. The Lancers and Pioneers tip off at 7:00 p.m. in what will likely be another electric Van Dyne Gym.
"I'd like to thank the students for tonight," said Croy. "We're really developing a special connection with them and playing in Van Dyne."
The win closes the PacWest/CCAA Conference Challenge, sponsored by the Riverside County EDA, putting the Lancers at a perfect 5-0 overall. The Golden Eagles move to 0-2 in their young season.
Jordan Heading had a career night, finishing with 19 points (7-for-11, 5-for-8 from three-point range).
"Heading has been ready to go since the first game," said head coach Rick Croy. "He plays with tremendous confidence and he's really getting better defensively."
Michael Smith added 13 points off 6-for-10 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds. Taj Spencer closed out the three Lancers in double figures with 11 points (5-for-9), while Gelaun Wheelwright was one off of keeping his streak going, ending with nine points (4-for-12).
Jordan Giusti dished out five assists without turning over the ball once and added five steals to help force the Golden Eagles to turn the ball over 24 times.
"When we commit defensively, that's when we're at our best," said Croy. "I think our guys knew we weren't totally committed defensively Friday night, even though we didn't really talk about it. On a good team, sometimes things don't always have to be talked about, they need to be acted upon and our guys acted on that tonight."
No Cal State L.A. player finished in double-digits as the Lancers played tough defense and held the opposition to just a 29.5 shooting percentage.
CBU was dominant from tip off as Kalidou Diouf won the free ball and laid in the first two points of the night. The Lancers didn't allow the Golden Eagles to make a single bucket until over five minutes into the contest, meanwhile going on a 15-point rampage, drawing multiple charges, to take an early 15-0 lead.
"When we pressure, it usually leads to good offense," said Croy. "You have the most control over the defensive end of the floor. You have to put in the time and get better offensively, but you're not always in control with that."
CBU quickly turned a single-digit lead into a 10-point lead and even 20-point lead before breaking into the 30s with 3:33 left on the clock before halftime. Heading sank a three-point shot to put the Lancers up 40-10 off an assist from Wheelwright.
With still a lot of basketball left on the clock, the Golden Eagles had time to try to cut away at the lead, but the Lancers went into halftime with a 44-20 lead, hoping to keep building momentum.
"It's always difficult to play with a lead, but you have to learn how to do it," said Croy. "You don't want to play in close games every night if you want to be dominant on your home floor."
Cal State L.A. tried to hang with CBU, but just couldn't keep up with the Lancers. Alexander Birketoft put his team back in front by 30, draining a high-arching shot from the top of the three-point line. Smith found Marquise Mosley under the basket to make it a 32-point cushion, 62-30.
"Marquise is definitely finding his rhythm," Croy said.
The Golden Eagles turned on high pressure, but Giusti and the Lancers were too fast to get over the half line and threatening on offense once more.
Mosley put the final dagger in the game by sinking a deep three-point shot before CBU closed the game with the 82-41 victory — the largest scoring margin in the Croy era.
"I think every time you play in a close game, you learn a lot about your team," said Croy. "We've been fortunate to win the close games we've been in. We're learning more and more about our team and what we need to do moving forward to take the steps we need to be a team that competes in March. We have a long way to go, but we have good leadership on our team and we have guys where this journey means a whole lot to them."
CBU will look to bring what it's learned on Thursday as it takes on another CCAA team in Cal State East Bay. The Lancers and Pioneers tip off at 7:00 p.m. in what will likely be another electric Van Dyne Gym.
"I'd like to thank the students for tonight," said Croy. "We're really developing a special connection with them and playing in Van Dyne."
Team Stats
CSULA
CBU-MBB
FG%
.295
.485
3FG%
.182
.313
FT%
.765
.750
RB
28
40
TO
24
12
STL
8
11
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballMen's Basketball Highlights vs GCU
Saturday, February 08
