California Baptist University
15-4, 8-3
Azusa Pacific
15-6, 10-3
Lange Goes Long
1/25/2018 8:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
AZUSA, Calif. — In what could be its last game ever at the Felix Event Center, California Baptist University faced some adversity in the first half, but came out fired up in the second to beat Azusa Pacific 84-74.
The Lancers, who are receiving votes in the latest top-25 poll, improve to 15-4 on the year, 8-3 in the PacWest, completing the sweep over the regular-season series and their fifth-straight win over the Cougars. APU drops to 14-7 overall, 10-3 in conference, snapping its three-game win streak.
"I'm so proud of our guys," said Coach Rick Croy. "We wanted more than anything to prove to each other that we could compete well in a hostile environment. APU always has a great home floor, they always compete well here. That was our focus to stay within our game plan, do the things we try to do in practice each day no matter what the environment was."
Cory Lange caught fire early and never cooled off, finishing with 16 points without missing a single shot. The senior guard went 5-for-5 from the field, including 4-for-4 from three-point range, and a perfect 2-for-2 at the free throw line. Kalidou Diouf led CBU with 21 points (8-for-13) and five assists, while Jordan Heading added 16 points (6-for-15) and five assists as well. Bul Kuol rounded out the Lancers scoring in double figures with 11 points (2-for-5).
CBU jumped out to a 13-2 lead, but it didn't last long. Kuol got things started for the Lancers making a three-pointer assisted by Diouf. Back-to-back threes created some more separation for CBU as Matt Hubbard and Heading each knocked down triples to give the Lancers the double-digit lead.
The Cougars fought back, cutting their deficit down to five after converting a jump-shot, 24-19. Diouf responded with a steal and breakaway dunk making it 26-21, with still eight minutes to play in the half.
APU kept it close before taking the lead, 34-33, with just under five minutes left in the half. Heading scored a layup just before the buzzer sounded to end the half, giving CBU some momentum going into the break despite trailing 43-40.
CBU came out firing to open the second and took back the lead, 47-43, two minutes into the period. Lange sparked a 7-0 run with a layup off a Heading assist, before Diouf posted up under the basket and Gabe Taylor knocked down a three to put the Lancers in front by four.
The Cougars refused to go down easy, responding with a 9-3 run to take back the lead 52-50. APU added to its lead after another three-point basket at 59-54, but the Lancers stayed poised.
Taylor found an open lane to the basket to spark a 7-0 run to put momentum back in CBU's hands. Heading capped the run after he scored a lay up that pushed the lead to 66-59 at the eight minute mark.
With two minutes left to play, APU cut the margin to five points, 76-71, but Diouf finished two free throws and stole the ball away on the Cougars' next possession, resulting in a Lange three, 81-71. APU had no choice but to try and foul, but Heading and Kuol finished the game from the charity stripe to seal the 84-74 victory.
"We're learning from some of our mistakes that we made," said Croy. "We had a couple tough ones on the road where we haven't competed as well as we could have. I thought tonight we played with poise, got the ball where we needed to put it and came up with some big defensive stops."
The Lancers are back in action next week as they host Concordia University of Irvine on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., looking to carry momentum against another tough opponent and avenge last week's loss on the road.
"We have a long way to go," added Croy. "We're still improving. We have to keep having great practices and just go one game at a time."
