IRVINE, Calif. — For the second year in a row, No. 18 California Baptist University put itself in the PacWest Tournament Championship game. Last year the Lancers came up short of the title, but they started Saturday's matchup on fire determined to grab the crown with just top-seeded Azusa Pacific standing in their way.
 
Both times these two teams met in the regular season, the Cougars managed to sneak out with close wins. Both teams finished the regular season with 15-5 conference records, but APU won the championship on tie-breaker criteria. APU won the first meeting by two points and barely escaped with a one-point victory in the Van Dyne Gym. Saturday afternoon was a different story as CBU exploded from three-point range to grab a double-digit lead and never look back, winning the game 101-64.
 
The win is the largest margin of victory in a PacWest Championship game (and first time 100 points were scored), improving CBU to 27-6 overall. It also extends the Lancers' winning-streak to nine games. The Cougars fall to 22-8 and wait to see where they stand in the West Region on Sunday.

"We're excited," said Coach Rick Croy. "We really wanted this game. The guys were ready to go today. There wasn't a lot that needed to be said. We wanted to focus on our program and our commitment to each other and that's what played out today. That was some of the best defense we've played against a great APU team."
 
Michael Smith — who set a new tournament record for most points scored over the three-day span — was named Most Outstanding Player, going along with his PacWest Player of the Year title, and led the Lancers with 26 points (10-for-16).

"This felt good to get it done for the guys before us," said Smith. "Feels good to be able to text those guys and tell them, 'We got the job done.' Remarkable feeling."
 
Gelaun Wheelwright — who last year set the tournament record for most points scored over the three-day span — also finished with 26 points (9-for-16, 6-for-10 3PT). He added a career-high 11 rebounds for the double-double and picked up all-tournament recognition.

"This actually my first time in four years I've gotten to cut down a net," said Wheelwright. "It's a great feeling with all our hard work paying off. I'm glad I got to do it with people I care a lot about outside of basketball. It means a lot to share it with people I love."

"I've really backed off in March, these guys are owning it, it's really their team," said Croy on coaching his players. "Gelaun and Michael are obviously special players, but their relationship has grown and that's so important. On great teams, you have to have guys who care about each other or talent and skill don't mean as much. It doesn't work. [Wheelwright and Smith] are both prolific players, but they don't care about who gets the credit. They've made each other better players."

CBU outrebounded the Cougars 44-29 with Kalidou Diouf contributing eight boards on the night. 
 
APU may have opened with the first four points, but CBU responded in a huge manner to take a commanding double-digit lead. Wheelwright got the Lancers erupting on a 29-4 run to jump in front 36-14 with five minutes left before halftime.
 
Down 10-7, Wheelwright sank a high-arching three-pointer to even the game up at 10-10 and then gave CBU the lead with another triple. Marquise Mosley got in on the three-point action, draining his shot from the corner perimeter.
 
The more the Cougars missed their shots, the more energy CBU grabbed as the Lancer crowd went wild. APU managed to cut within one, 13-12, but Alexander Birketoft drained a three to and Wheelwright followed suit as the Lancers started to pull away.

Smith gave CBU its first 20-point lead of the night, stealing the ball away from a Cougar and taking off on the counter attack. He laid it in with ease, putting the Lancers up 34-14 and forcing an APU timeout. Seconds later he scored another basket in transition off a Wheelwright assist.

 "You don't go into the game thinking you could separate like that," said Croy. "We really were solid for 40 minutes. When you're solid like that, it gives you a chance. They bring a lot of guys at you, playing 10 good players, so you have to stay locked in. Didn't see the game going out like this, we anticipated a real close game like we've had in the past."
 
With less than a minute left in the first, APU was able to bring the margin under the 20-point mark, but Smith drew a foul driving to the basket and hit both free throws to send CBU into halftime with a 51-30 cushion.
 
Despite the 21-point margin, CBU knew not to take the Cougars for granted with 20 full minutes standing in front of its first PacWest Tournament title.
 
The Cougars tried to jump on board of the three-point train, hitting back-to-back triples to cut the Lancers' edge down to 20 points, 58-38. Diouf and Wheelwright each tapped in layups off the backboard to keep CBU's cushion above the 20-point mark at 62-38 with just over 14 minutes to play.
 
CBU stayed poised and started to threaten breaking into 30-point margin range with 10 minutes remaining on the clock. Diouf posted up under the basket and Smith took advantage of a rebound falling right into his arms to put his team in front 78-51.
 
Smith gave CBU a nice 30-point cushion with under eight minutes to play, floating the ball up and over his defender and through the hoop, 83-53.
 
Heading down the stretch with an 88-57, it looked like the Lancers had all but sealed the tournament title, but they didn't take their foot off the pedal just yet.
 
Trevone Williams posted up under the basket and muscled his way in to make it 94-61 just before the two-minute mark. CBU scored seven more points and only allowed three to take the game 101-64 for the championship.
 
The Lancers find out where they will go for the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. The NCAA Division II Selection Show will be aired on www.ncaa.com/live with eight teams competing for a spot in the Elite 8 tournament, held March 23-26 in Frisco, Texas.

"We have a lot of season left and we want to keep playing great basketball," said Croy.