Like a Raging Bul

Monday, January 23

Fresno, Calif.

7:30 PM

California Baptist University

Fresno Pacific

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

1/23/2017 9:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Wellman, Director of Sports Information

FRESNO, Calif. — After a close first half, No. 5-ranked California Baptist University exploded offensively in the second half to beat Fresno Pacific 85-70 Monday night.

The Lancers improve to 18-1 overall and pull even with Hawai'i Pacific in the PacWest standings, sitting in first place with a 10-1 conference mark. The win also extends CBU's unbeaten streak to 10-straight games. The Sunbirds drop to 4-14 on the year, 4-7 in the PacWest, with the loss.

Michael Smith led the Lancers with 23 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He was on fire from the perimeter, missing just one of his six three-point attempts. Bul Kuol had a career-night with 17 points, also on 6-for-10 shooting.

Jason Todd grabbed a double-double with 12 points (4-for-9) and 11 rebounds. Casey Norris rounded out the four CBU hoopsters in double figures with 10 points. He dished out a career-high seven assists, just three away from a double-double as well.

Smith scored the first eight points for the Lancers to give his team a quick 8-6 lead, but CBU couldn't shake the Sunbirds just yet as the home team evened the game up, 14-14. Kuol sparked a 5-0 spurt with a triple in the corner, before Todd scored off a Norris assist, 19-14.

FPU tried to keep the Lancers under control, not letting the visitors grab more than a two-possession lead and even taking the lead at one point, but CBU kept its composure.

The Lancers walked into halftime with a 37-31 lead, looking to put the game away early in the second half.

Diouf used his size down low to open the second half with the first two buckets, giving the Lancers their first double-digit lead of the night, 41-31. It sparked an 11-0 run before the Sunbirds could call a timeout to catch their breath.

FPU managed to score coming out of the break, but it seemed there was no stopping CBU. Todd responded with a triple in the corner to further distance the Lancers from the Sunbirds, 51-33.

Kuol caught fire at halftime, coming off the bench to score seven points in just four minutes. He scored back-to-back jumpers to give his team its first 20-point lead of the night, 61-40.

It only got better from there as CBU upped its margin to 26 points as Norris found a lane and drove to the basket and drew a foul. He hit his and-one free throw to put the score at 71-46 in favor of the Lancers.

FPU tried to chip away at the upper hand and cut it down to 15 points, 80-65, with just about two minutes to go.

Determined to not let the Sunbirds back in it, the Lancers – who lead the nation in free throw-percentage – finished their chances at the charity stripe and took care of business during the run of play to seal the 85-70 victory.

CBU returns home for a 7:00 p.m. tip off time against Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday. It tips off four home games in eight days for the Lancers as three Hawaiian schools make the trek to Riverside starting next Monday.