An Inside Job

Saturday, November 26

Riverside, Calif.

7:00 PM

California Baptist University

6-0

Arkansas-Fort Smith

4-5

Arkansas-Fort Smith

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

11/26/2016 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Wellman, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — In its final tune-up before PacWest action starts next week, No. 5-ranked California Baptist University had to overcome some adversity in the second half to defeat Arkansas-Fort Smith 84-70 Saturday night.

The Lancers improve to 6-0 heading into conference, while the Lions – who are receiving votes in the NCAA Division II poll – drop 4-5 on the year.

"You're not going to play well every night out, so you need to focus on competing," said Coach Rick Croy. "You have to focus on doing the little things that win games. They don't always show up in the box scores, but all these games are scraps and you have to stay in the fight the whole way."

Kalidou Diouf led all scorers with a career-high 32 points on 13-of-15 shooting inside the post. He also posted seven rebounds and a career-high four blocks on the night.

"I'm just getting better in the paint against the double teams," said Diouf. "I was struggling with that over the past two games. I'm getting more comfortable moving the ball in the post, seeing my teammates when they're open. Everything was just working for me, I was making my shots."

Michael Smith also scored in double figures, finishing with 26 points and was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. He also dished out a career-high eight assists.

It was back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the contest with neither team jumping out by multi-possessions until Smith snatched up a defensive board and ran the length of the court to bank it in off the glass. Jordan Heading followed with a fast break layup after stealing it away to give the Lancers the first multi-possession lead of the night, 27-22, with just under seven minutes before halftime.

UAFS tried to keep CBU from getting too momentum, taking advantage of opportunities on the transition to put the score within one, 31-30, with three and a half minutes left in the first.

The Lancers came out of the break looking to build on their 35-33 lead and Todd found nothing-but-net from the corner in the first possession. Diouf followed by posting up under the basket to put CBU on the verge of a 10-point lead, 40-33.

That double-digit lead came five minutes into the second as Diouf used his size to bank in a contested shot inside the paint, putting CBU in front 49-38.

UAFS got stops and took over the lead, 52-49, with just over 12 minutes to play. Smith knocked down a shot from the perimeter to even the score up and Heading sank another three-pointer to put the Lancers back in front, 55-52.

Things heated up in the final 10 minutes as neither team wanted to let the other get too far out in front.

Smith scored five-straight free throws, including an and-one opportunity, to give CBU some cushion, 62-56, with eight minutes left on the clock. Diouf kept that streak going, sinking two chances at the line himself before slamming it home to put the Lancers back up by double-digits, 66-56.

"We never give up, we keep competing no matter what adversity we face," said Diouf. "I think we did a great job fighting through the adversity tonight."

Heading down the stretch with a 70-62 lead, the Lancers looked to slow down the game and take care of the ball. Meanwhile, UAFS wanted to speed things up in hopes of launching a comeback.

"We have guys you can count on down the stretch," said Croy. "We've been pulling together when things get tough and that's been huge for us. UAFS had one of the better runs anyone has put on us in the Van Dyne Gym, but fortunately there was a timeout right after where we were able to regroup and play better defense down the stretch."

Marquise Mosley rattled in a three-pointer from distance and Todd found Diouf for a dunk while the Lions were trying to high press to all but seal the 84-70 victory for the Lancers.

"Our team doesn't want to let each other down," said Croy. "If someone gets beat, they know someone is there to help them. I think that's huge. You can win games on defense in the last five minutes and I think our guys are learning that and growing in that."

CBU hits the road to open conference on Thursday, taking on Point Loma at 7:30 p.m. The Lancers return to Van Dyne on Saturday, hosting rival Azusa Pacific at 7:00 p.m.

"I think we can take a lot of confidence from these past six games into conference," said Diouf. "People know their roles now. We're ready to go."