SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A program-best season came to a close for California Baptist University in the Western Water Polo Association Championship third-place game against 16
th-ranked and third-seeded Loyola Marymount.
CBU, the No. 4 team, did all it could to defy the seedings, with a third-quarter comeback, but could not overcome the Lions over the final eight minutes of an 11-9 loss. At 22-11, the 15
th-ranked Lancers end the year with their most wins and finest record of the NCAA era (2013-16). LMU finishes up at 13-16.
On top of that, CBU enjoyed a banner year in several other ways. It finished fourth in the WWPA regular season, grabbed two top-10 upset wins, defeated its first top-eight team and reached a top-14 NCAA ranking – with all of those serving as program bests and firsts.
The Lancers have now finished a program-best fourth in the WWPA Championships for the third year in a row, as well.
With third place on the line, both teams were tied 6-6 at halftime. LMU jumped out to an 8-6 lead a minute, 35 seconds into the third quarter. Down but not out, the Lancers fought their way back on a five-meter penalty shot from
Brent Teraoka with 5:22 left and a
Tanner Shore goal from deep to even the score, 8-8, 43 seconds later.
With 11:05 to go in regulation,
Caleb Rogers put CBU in front, 9-8, with a bar-in shot, but the Lions closed out the game on a 3-0 run.
Senior
Joseph Moorman blocked 15 shots and created two steals in his final college game to leave as the best goalkeeper to ever play for the Lancers, owning career records in total saves and games with 10 or more saves. Teraoka, another senior, scored twice on five-meter penalty shots, assisted twice, logged two field blocks, drew two exclusions and forced a turnover. The duo were named to the All-WWPA Tournament Teams for their success this weekend, with Moorman grabbing first team honors and Teraoka earning himself a spot on the second team.
Fellow seniors
Elad Gunya and
Teddy Forte also completed their final games with the Lancers and scored in the process. Shore, a sophomore, led CBU in the field, with three goals, three steals and a field block. Freshman
Kyle Johnson also blocked three shots in the field.
The Lancers came out strong against LMU, with
Jonathan Lotero scoring the first goal of the game from set just 22 seconds into the contest. Teraoka's first five-meter goal made it 2-1. Consecutive CBU tallies from Gunya and Shore gave the Lancers a 4-2 lead halfway into the first quarter.
Shore's second goal and another tally from
Teddy Forte kept the Lancers up two, 6-4, with 6:15 left in the half. Loyola Marymount closed out the first half strong, as well, to tie the score at 6-6.
BOX SCORE
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