FRESNO, Calif. – A dominant start and resilient finish pushed California Baptist University over the top for a 10-8 win over Fresno Pacific at the Sunnyside Aquatics Complex on Thursday evening.
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Seventeenth-ranked CBU improves to 14-8, 1-2 in the Western Water Polo Association heading into three more games this weekend – starting with No. 18 St. Francis Friday at 4:20 p.m. – at the Santa Clara Rodeo. FPU falls to 8-10, 1-5 this season.
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"This was the big one tonight, we like WWPA wins," Coach
Kevin Rosa said. "Hopefully, we can take the momentum from tonight and get a few more this weekend. This takes some pressure off, so now we can relax and go play."
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Brent Teraoka, a Fresno native, sparked the Lancers to a 6-1 lead in the first half and finished the game with three goals, an assist, three steals, three field blocks and two drawn ejections.
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"He's a Fresno-based kid, so he was amped and ready to go" Rosa said of Teraoka. "All three of his goals were great and on the counter."
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After offense set the tone, defense dominated – thanks in large part to
Joseph Moorman – in the fourth quarter. CBU allowed just one goal over the final eight minutes, and Moorman made four of his 14 saves in the final two minutes.
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"We relied on the defense and played much better in that quarter, with Moorman leading the charge," Rosa said. "We gave up some better shots, limiting them to bad angles. Any shot we give up that's a B-shot or worse for the other team will be taken care of by [Moorman]."
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Tanner Shore did not score but dominated defensively, with seven steals and an assist in the game. It is a CBU single-game record in the NCAA era (2013-16) and the sixth-most steals ever recorded in a game by the Lancers and the most since goalie Austen Ramer had nine back in 2012.
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After CBU dominated the first quarter, the Sunbirds took control momentarily in the second and third, with their rally pulling FPU even with CBU with 11-plus minutes left in the third quarter, 7-7.
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In need of a response,
Royce Daniel Laverne and
Caleb Rogers sparked the Lancers off the bench. Laverne scored off a
Dominick Nevarez assist at the 2:26 mark on a six-on-five play. Rogers made it a two-goal game again, 9-7, by scoring with one second left in the third quarter.
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The Sunbirds scored 41 seconds into the final quarter, but
Thomas Henline dealt the dagger and final goal of the game with 5:14 remaining off an
Elad Gunya assist.
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Gunya scored twice in the game and assisted on another goal, while
Teddy Forte finished with two assists and a steal. Nevarez added two points, with a goal, assist and steal in the contest.
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Those late-game heroics ensured CBU never trailed following the lead it built up in the first quarter. After giving up the first goal of the game, the Lancers went on a 6-0 run to take a big lead. Teraoka started it and scored just 13 seconds off FPU's first goal, speeding up the pool and getting in good position before scoring off a Forte pass. Â
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It got bad for the Sunbirds in a hurry, with Gunya and Nevarez scoring within a 27-second span to give the Lancers a 3-1 edge with 2:52 left in the first quarter. Teraoka notched his second goal on a man-advantage with 1:23 left in the quarter and
Kyle Rasmussen converted a Shore pass to up CBU's lead to 5-1 before the second frame.
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"We played some really good, inspired water polo early in the game," Rosa said. "We got some intensity up on the counter attack and looked really good. We were getting the shots we needed and putting them away."
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Teraoka netted his hat trick at the 4:17 mark of the second quarter off another Forte feed before Fresno Pacific managed to cut its deficit to two, 6-4, by halftime.
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After the Lancers take on St. Francis Friday, they have a big chance to make a statement against No. 10 Bucknell Saturday at 10:20 a.m. and then a matchup against Navy at 2:20 p.m.
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"We know the next three games are going to be tough against three East Coast teams, who like coming out to California and beating West Coast teams," Rosa said. "We are going to get some good solid water polo in going into next week."
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