Juiced on Giusti

Monday, February 16

Riverside

7:00 PM

California Baptist University

20-4, 14-3PW

BYU-Hawaii

18-5, 12-5PW

BYU-Hawaii

California Baptist University

Photo by: Lauren Garcia

2/16/2015 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Just weeks ago in Hawaii, California Baptist couldn't find paradise in its first two games, falling to both Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii. Saturday night the No. 22 Lancers avenged the first loss and Monday night repeated the feat with an 84-71 win over the No. 13 Seasiders.

The win marks the 20th of the season, putting CBU at 20-4 overall, 14-3 in the PacWest. The Seasiders fall to 18-5 on the season, 12-5 in conference with their third-straight loss.

Jordan Giusti led three Lancers in double figures, finishing with a career-high 19 points (4-for-5). Ryan Berg followed with 15 points (4-for-10, 2-for-4 3PT) and Michael Smith rounded out the trio with a double-double, scoring 13 points (4-for-13) and adding 13 rebounds.

The last time these two teams met, BYUH opened as strong as can be, barely missing a shot, powering through to a 100-87 victory. While BYUH made the first bucket of the night, the Lancers kept the Seasiders from grabbing too much momentum early as Chris Brown found an open lane to drive to the basket and initiate an 8-0 run.

BYUH ended the run and cut the margin to just one, but the Lancers went on another big run, scoring 10-straight points. Berg hit two free throws to start the run and Eividas Petrulis tipped in a basket to put CBU in front 18-8.

Still, the Seasiders tried to keep with the home squad, bringing the game within a possession on multiple occasions. The Lancers stayed focus and walked into the locker room with a 41-30 cushion, carrying some momentum as Smith scored a buzzer-beating basket.

Coming out of the break, the Lancers opened the second frame with back-to-back two-pointers from Taj Spencer and Smith. CBU kept trying to make its move to push the game out of reach completely, but the Seasiders hung in there and made it a six-point game, 66-60, heading down the stretch.

A battle ensued for the remaining five minutes as neither team was willing to throw in the towel. BYUH cut the six-point lead in half, 66-63, but Giusti finished a free throw to make it two possessions once again.

The Seasiders tried to foul back into the game with two minutes left on the clock, but Giusti was good for two at the charity stripe to put the score at 73-65. BYUH continued to send Giusti to the line, but the junior made his free throws and then stole the ball back to draw another foul.

With 30 seconds to go, CBU took an 11-point lead off two free throws from Spencer. BYUH responded with a bucket, but the Lancers closed out the remaining seconds with two more free shots from Giusti and a layup from Trevone Williams to take the game 84-71.

CBU heads out on the road for a pair of games, heading first to No. 23 Azusa Pacific on Saturday for a rivalry showdown. The Lancers return home to Van Dyne on Feb. 28 to conclude the regular season. The 7:00 p.m. game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket.