Thursday, March 5
Irvine, CA
4:00 PM
California Baptist University
vs
Hawaii Pacific
PacWest Tournament Preview
3/2/2015 10:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Just like last year, both California Baptist University's basketball teams are participating in the PacWest Championship Tournament with their eyes on the prize.
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The tournament will be held March 5-7 at CU Arena on the campus of Concordia University Irvine. First round games will be held on Thursday and semifinal games on Friday starting at 11:30 a.m., with two games for the women preceding two games for the men. The championship games will be held on Saturday, with the women at 2:00 p.m. and the men at 4:15 p.m.
TICKET INFO
Single-day tickets are available for $10, providing access to all games on that day. All-tournament passes are available for $25, providing access to all games of the three-day event. Credit/debit card purchases can only be made online HERE. All tickets purchased at the arena are cash only. Proof of purchase is required at the gate, with either a printed ticket or receipt on a smartphone.
MULTIMEDIA
Fans can follow live stats and a live video feed through the PacWest Stretch portal at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/pacwest/, while Jeff Tolcher will bring the play-by-play action for the Lancers at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers/.
MEN'S NOTES
No. 22-ranked CBU enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face Hawaii Pacific in the opening round, Thursday at 4:00 p.m. The Lancers come off a strong finish in the regular season, dominating Fresno Pacific 104-70 on the road and beating Notre Dame de Namur 66-52 in its final PacWest game — which was also broadcasted on Fox Sports West. Earlier this year, the Lancers beat the Sharks 64-50 with Gelaun Wheelwright posting 24 points (8-for-13) on the night. Michael Smith, who grabbed a double-double against HPU with 12 points and 10 rebounds, has been coming up big for CBU and has scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games, including a current four-game streak. Wheelwright (15.8 points per game) and Smith (11.6 ppg) are two of four Lancers averaging double-digit scoring with Ryan Berg (12.4 ppg) and Taj Spencer (11.9 ppg) rounding out the quartet. Spencer and Smith also lead the Lancer rebounding efforts, averaging 6.8 and 5.9 boards per game, respectively.
The winner of Thursday's game goes on to face No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific in the semifinals at 4:00 p.m. In the regular season, CBU split with the Cougars, taking an 87-80 upset win at home, but falling 84-68 on the road. Whichever team comes out on top of the semifinal matchup moves on to the championship game on Saturday at 4:15 p.m., with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament. CBU currently ranks as the No. 2 team in the West Region, with the top-eight teams earning a spot in the tournament held March 13-16.
Men's Tournament Central
MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
WOMEN'S NOTES
CBU goes into the postseason still receiving votes in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II poll and as the No. 2 seed of the PacWest tournament. The Lancers earned themselves a first-round bye and will face the winner of No. 6 seed BYU-Hawaii and No. 3 seed Point Loma on Friday at 11:30 a.m. The winner then moves on to the championship held Saturday at 2:00 p.m., with the winner of that game grabbing an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament, held March 13-16.
Last year, CBU worked itself all the way to the championship game but fell 88-76 to Academy of Art in a hard-fought battle. This year, the Lancers finished the regular season on a two-game winning streak, including a 117-89 beating over Fresno Pacific — the first time CBU reached triple digits this year. The Lancers, who sit 23-5 on the season, swept the season series with BYU-Hawaii with an 87-53 road win and 80-54 home victory. CBU and PLNU split the series as the Sea Lions took the Riverside contest 75-67, but the Lancers got revenge with an 80-70 victory in San Diego.
Four Lancers average double figures, led by Courtney Nelson with 15.6 ppg. Cassidy Mihalko isn't far behind her fellow sophomore, averaging 15.1 ppg. Darsha Burnside has 19 double-doubles this year, ranking fourth in the NCAA Division II, to average a double-double with 14.0 ppg and 12.5 rpg (fifth-best in the division). Kamille Diaz rounds out the quartet with a 13.5 ppg average and tops the conference by sinking 3.0 three-pointers a game.
Women's Tournament Central
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The tournament will be held March 5-7 at CU Arena on the campus of Concordia University Irvine. First round games will be held on Thursday and semifinal games on Friday starting at 11:30 a.m., with two games for the women preceding two games for the men. The championship games will be held on Saturday, with the women at 2:00 p.m. and the men at 4:15 p.m.
TICKET INFO
Single-day tickets are available for $10, providing access to all games on that day. All-tournament passes are available for $25, providing access to all games of the three-day event. Credit/debit card purchases can only be made online HERE. All tickets purchased at the arena are cash only. Proof of purchase is required at the gate, with either a printed ticket or receipt on a smartphone.
MULTIMEDIA
Fans can follow live stats and a live video feed through the PacWest Stretch portal at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/pacwest/, while Jeff Tolcher will bring the play-by-play action for the Lancers at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers/.
MEN'S NOTES
No. 22-ranked CBU enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will face Hawaii Pacific in the opening round, Thursday at 4:00 p.m. The Lancers come off a strong finish in the regular season, dominating Fresno Pacific 104-70 on the road and beating Notre Dame de Namur 66-52 in its final PacWest game — which was also broadcasted on Fox Sports West. Earlier this year, the Lancers beat the Sharks 64-50 with Gelaun Wheelwright posting 24 points (8-for-13) on the night. Michael Smith, who grabbed a double-double against HPU with 12 points and 10 rebounds, has been coming up big for CBU and has scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 games, including a current four-game streak. Wheelwright (15.8 points per game) and Smith (11.6 ppg) are two of four Lancers averaging double-digit scoring with Ryan Berg (12.4 ppg) and Taj Spencer (11.9 ppg) rounding out the quartet. Spencer and Smith also lead the Lancer rebounding efforts, averaging 6.8 and 5.9 boards per game, respectively.
The winner of Thursday's game goes on to face No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific in the semifinals at 4:00 p.m. In the regular season, CBU split with the Cougars, taking an 87-80 upset win at home, but falling 84-68 on the road. Whichever team comes out on top of the semifinal matchup moves on to the championship game on Saturday at 4:15 p.m., with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament. CBU currently ranks as the No. 2 team in the West Region, with the top-eight teams earning a spot in the tournament held March 13-16.
Men's Tournament Central
MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
| Thursday, March 5 - Quarterfinals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 6 seed Hawaii Pacific | No. 3 seed California Baptist |
| Game 2 | 6:15 p.m. | No. 5 seed Point Loma | No. 4 seed BYU-Hawaii |
| Friday, March 6 - Semifinals | |||
| Game 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Game 1 Winner | No. 2 seed Azusa Pacific |
| Game 4 | 6:15 p.m. | Game 2 Winner | No. 1 seed Dixie State |
| Saturday, March 7 - Championship | |||
| Game 5 | 4:15 p.m. | Game 3 Winner | Game 4 Winner |
WOMEN'S NOTES
CBU goes into the postseason still receiving votes in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II poll and as the No. 2 seed of the PacWest tournament. The Lancers earned themselves a first-round bye and will face the winner of No. 6 seed BYU-Hawaii and No. 3 seed Point Loma on Friday at 11:30 a.m. The winner then moves on to the championship held Saturday at 2:00 p.m., with the winner of that game grabbing an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament, held March 13-16.
Last year, CBU worked itself all the way to the championship game but fell 88-76 to Academy of Art in a hard-fought battle. This year, the Lancers finished the regular season on a two-game winning streak, including a 117-89 beating over Fresno Pacific — the first time CBU reached triple digits this year. The Lancers, who sit 23-5 on the season, swept the season series with BYU-Hawaii with an 87-53 road win and 80-54 home victory. CBU and PLNU split the series as the Sea Lions took the Riverside contest 75-67, but the Lancers got revenge with an 80-70 victory in San Diego.
Four Lancers average double figures, led by Courtney Nelson with 15.6 ppg. Cassidy Mihalko isn't far behind her fellow sophomore, averaging 15.1 ppg. Darsha Burnside has 19 double-doubles this year, ranking fourth in the NCAA Division II, to average a double-double with 14.0 ppg and 12.5 rpg (fifth-best in the division). Kamille Diaz rounds out the quartet with a 13.5 ppg average and tops the conference by sinking 3.0 three-pointers a game.
Women's Tournament Central
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
| Thursday, March 5 - Quarterfinals | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | 11:30 a.m. | No. 6 seed BYU-Hawaii | No. 3 seed Point Loma |
| Game 2 | 1:45 p.m. | No. 5 seed Academy of Art | No. 4 seed Azusa Pacific |
| Friday, March 6 - Semifinals | |||
| Game 3 | 11:30 a.m. | Game 1 Winner | No. 2 seed California Baptist |
| Game 4 | 1:45 p.m. | Game 2 Winner | No. 1 seed Hawaii Pacific |
| Saturday, March 7 - Championship | |||
| Game 5 | 2:00 p.m. | Game 3 Winner | Game 4 Winner |
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
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