SAN FRANCISCO —  Both Academy of Art and No. 4-ranked California Baptist University knew the importance of Tuesday night's matchup: a PacWest regular-season title on the line. The two teams sat in a tie for first place in the conference and each came out looking to dampen the other's hopes for a piece of the crown.
 
The Lancers proved they were the better team, grabbing a 79-70 victory to remain in the hunt for the PacWest title. No. 17-ranked Azusa Pacific, which beat BYU-Hawaii 88-66 tonight, is also still in the running for the championship and is tied with CBU for first place.

"We knew Academy of Art was going to be a tough road win, but we came out and grabbed the victory," said Kamille Diaz. "It was fun because every game from now on is a battle for first place in conference."
 
With the win, CBU improves to 25-1 overall, 17-1 in conference, and extends its unbeaten streak to 18-straight games — now just two away from tying the program record set back in the 1987-88 season — with two games left before postseason. Academy of Art drops to 22-7 overall, 17-2 in the PacWest with the loss.
 
Five Lancers finished the night in double figures, led by Courtney Nelson with 25 points (10-for-16). Diaz followed with 14 points (6-for-12), while dishing out seven assists.
 
Megan Frerer came up big for the Lancers with 12 points (4-for-6) and 15 rebounds for the double-double. She also had two blocks on the night.
 
"We knew we needed to bring our best game tonight," said Frerer. "We stayed composed down the stretch when they started to make a comeback. We still have two games left, though, and we're excited to finish strong. It was a good team win."
 
Erin Asher matched Frerer's 12 points, while Cassidy Mihalko chipped in 11 points and had two steals.
 
Just five seconds into the game, Diaz hit a three to set the tone. It started the Lancers off on a 7-0 run before the Urban Knights could put a shot through the hoop. Nelson hit a jump shot in the spurt, before Diaz capped it by driving to the basket.
 
ArtU found its footing and came back within one, 9-8, but Diaz found Nelson inside the D for a jumper to keep some distance between the Lancers and Knights. Another wide-open look for Nelson under the basket gave CBU a five-point cushion, 13-8, but the Knights went on a 10-1 run to take over the lead.
 
Down 18-14 after the first 10 minutes, Frerer started the second quarter with a quick layup in the paint. It sparked an 18-2 run to not only give CBU back its lead, but with some cushion, 32-20.
 
The Urban Knights finally broke through the formidable Lancer defense, but CBU held a 35-23 cushion at halftime.
 
CBU — which leads the PacWest in field goal percentage defense — held ArtU to a 20.5 shooting percentage in the first half and looked to carry that momentum over into the second half.
 
However, with the two best scoring teams in the conference — the Lancers with a PacWest-best 85.6 points per game average and the Urban Knights with an 80.9 ppg mark — going at it, the second half was sure to have some big-time plays and increased intensity.
 
ArtU cut the margin down into single digits, 43-36, but Diaz found Asher on the left-side perimeter to make it a 10-point cushion once again.
 
The Lancers held a 52-41 cushion heading into the final 10 minutes of action and wanted to finish the game strong. Academy of Art kept trying to claw its way back into contention, but CBU held firm, determined to come out victorious.
 
Heading down the stretch with a 60-51 edge, the Lancers keyed in on their defense to force the Knights to take tough shots. The visitors got the stops they were hoping for and finished their chances on offense.
 
Frerer grabbed a defensive rebound to put the Lancers on the attack and Diaz found an open lane to drive to the basket, giving CBU a 66-53 cushion. Nelson kept momentum swinging in the Lancers' favor, also driving to the basket to force an ArtU timeout.
 
The Knights turned on the full press and cut the score to 75-68 with just about a minute remaining on the clock. Frerer hit two chances at the charity stripe to make it difficult on ArtU, 77-68.
 
Still, the home team battled, but the Lancers held on for the 79-70 victory.
 
CBU continues life on the road, heading to Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. The Lancers close out the regular season on Saturday at Holy Names for another 5:00 p.m. tipoff.