Moving On

Friday, March 13

Azusa, CA

12:00 PM

California Baptist University

25-6

Chico State

22-8

Chico State

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

3/13/2015 2:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

AZUSA, Calif. — Last year, California Baptist University drew Chico State in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament. The No. 21 Lancers had a similar fate this year, but weren't going to let history repeat itself, claiming a 67-61 victory.

"It was a tough game, we expected nothing less," said head coach Rick Croy. "When the draw came out, there was probably more enthusiasm than ever since they beat us last year.

"Beating Chico State is a huge accomplishment for us. We respect them a lot. They've been [to the NCAA Division II tournament] four years in a row and that's really hard to do."

CBU improves to 25-6 overall, while the Wildcats end their season at 22-8.

Gelaun Wheelwright led all scorers with 20 points (8-for-17) in his first NCAA championship game. Taj Spencer followed with his fifth double-double of the year, scoring 16 points (7-for-12) and adding 13 rebounds. Jordan Giusti rounded out the trio in double figures with 10 points, with most of his points coming at the charity stripe.

Ryan Berg dished out a game-high four assists to help his team to victory, while Chris Brown provided strong defense with four steals.

Things were kept pretty tight for the first 10 minutes, but CBU took the first double-possession lead at 14-10 as Brown finished two chances at the charity stripe.

"I told the guys we couldn't get rattled if we weren't lighting up the scoreboard," said Croy. "We just needed to compete every possession and I thought this was one of our better performances from start to finish. Just staying in the play and doing what we needed to do."

The Wildcats cut it back down to just one point, but Spencer put the Lancers back in front by five, 23-18, with four-and-a-half minutes before halftime. Berg kept the run going, putting CBU in front by seven before Chico State could end the spurt.

CBU tightened up on defense and forced Chico State to turn the ball over for the 11th time, giving the Lancers another chance at the basket before halftime. The Wildcats wouldn't let them get the shot off, however, putting the two teams at 27-24 at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Lancers opened on a 10-0 run to take their first double-digit lead of the night, 37-24. Spencer initiated the run by grabbing an offensive board and putting it in off the glass. Brown followed with a fast break to layup after stealing the ball away and CBU's defense made big stops to keep the run going.

"We've kind of struggled in the second half throughout the season and today we really made it a focus to come out and get stops," said Berg. "That's what we did and we were able to start the second on a nice little run."

The Wildcats broke their scoreless streak, hoping to cut the Lancers' lead back into single digits. They got what they were looking for at 42-33, but Spencer showed his strength at the post to put back CBU's margin.

With less than seven minutes to play, Chico State tried to chop away at the Lancers' lead, cutting it to 52-47 on a deep three. Spencer found Wheelwright under the basket to cut the Wildcats' run, but Chico State brought the score within four heading down the stretch.

"It's definitely tough to keep a lead [for over 30 minutes of a game] since anything can happen," said Berg. "Sometimes it's easier to go back and forth. I think our guys knew it was win or go home so we really came together as a family and we weren't going to let that lead slip."

Spencer found Wheelwright under the basket to extend the margin and Berg drew an offensive foul to put the Lancers back on the attack. Wheelwright took advantage of it and sank a three pointer to put CBU back in control at 59-50.

Chico State tried to get back in the mix with a three-pointer but couldn't put it on target as Spencer claimed the air ball. Back on offense, the junior slammed it in the hole to give CBU its double-digit lead once more at 61-50.

As the clock approached the one-minute mark, the Wildcats desperately tried to close the gap, but the Lancer defense wouldn't let them hit threes to get back in it. Chico State managed to bring the score line within five at 64-59 and sent Giusti to the line, hoping he'd miss. The junior guard kept his composure and rattled in both shots to keep the Wildcats at bay.

Despite Chico State making a jump shot with less than 15 seconds remaining, it was the last time it'd score as the Lancers secured the 67-61 win as Spencer came up with a huge defensive rebound.

In just its second NCAA Division II championship appearance, CBU moves on to the semifinals and takes on the winner of the BYU-Hawaii/Seattle Pacific game. The game will tip off Saturday at 5:00 p.m. with the victor moving on to the region championship on Monday.

"This is special for us," said Wheelwright. "What really mattered to us younger guys was that we didn't want to stop competing with our senior group (Eric Nelson, Brown, Eividas Petrulis and Eric Hunt). We love to compete and we're blessed to be able to move on and play again tomorrow night."

"We still don't feel we've played our best basketball," added Croy. "We've battled through some stuff this year, like injuries, and we feel like we have a chance to peak this weekend. You can't really peak until March because this is where you go get the special wins."