Battle Long And Prosper

Thursday, February 12

Riverside

7:00 PM

California Baptist University

Hawaii Hilo

Photo by: Leigh Ann Lindsey

2/12/2015 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Last year heading down the final stretch of the regular season, California Baptist University was in the driver's seat of the PacWest. This year, the No. 22 Lancers are battling to get back to where they want to be: at the top of the conference.

Thursday night, the Lancers took a step in the right direction, grabbing a close 68-66 win over UH Hilo to clinch a spot in the PacWest Championship Tournament held March 5-7 in Irvine.

CBU improves to 18-4 on the season and 12-3 in the PacWest, while the Vulcans drop to 10-11 and 6-9 in conference.

Gelaun Wheelwright led the Lancers with 15 points on the night, going 6-for-11 from the floor. Eividas Petrulis followed with 11 points (5-for-8) and Trevone Williams rounded out the trio with 10 points (4-for-6).

UH Hilo opened with the first bucket of the night, sinking a shot from the perimeter, and kept things close until CBU went on a 9-0 run to take its first significant lead. Tied at 13-13, Smith grabbed a put-back to initiate the run, followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Williams.

Wheelwright put the Lancers up by double-digits for the first time, 29-19, with a shot from beyond the arc. The Vulcans tried to keep it tight, but CBU closed out the half on a 10-2 run to hold a 43-27 upper hand at the break.

The Lancers kept the good times rolling to open the second frame, taking a 20-point lead on a Taj Spencer dunk, and even led by as much as 23 off a Ryan Berg free throw.

UH Hilo wasn't going to roll over, however, fighting back within four points as the clock hit the two-minute mark.

As the seconds ticked away, intensity grew in Van Dyne. With just a minute left and only a three-point lead, Chris Brown was sent to the charity stripe and finished two crucial free throws to put his team in front by two possessions.

The Vulcans answered back with a triple to move within two points at 65-63. In the remaining 21.2 seconds, UH Hilo fouled to try to get back the ball, but Smith made it a three-point game once again at 66-63.

In a last-ditch effort to drive to the basket, the Vulcans got called for a charge, erupting in Lancer cheers. Smith was sent to the line again and sank two shots. UH Hilo answered back with two points of its own, but it wasn't enough as CBU held on to the 68-66 victory.

The Lancers turn right around to host Chaminade on Saturday at 7:00 p.m., hoping to inflict revenge on the Silverswords. Two weeks ago, CUH upset CBU in Hawaii with a 79-77 defeat.