Never Giving Up

Monday, January 8

St. George, Utah

6:30 pm

California Baptist University

5-212-3/ PacWest

Dixie State

6-29-6/ PacWest

OT 1

California Baptist

Dixie State

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

1/8/2018 9:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Wellman, Director of Sports Information

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Despite trailing by double digits late in the game, California Baptist University battled back to force overtime, but ultimately fell 68-65 to Dixie State Monday night.

The Lancers drop to 12-3 overall, 5-2 in the PacWest, while the Trailblazers improve to 9-6 on the year, 6-2 in conference.

Gabe Taylor led a trio of Lancers in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a 3-of-4 performance from distance. Jason Todd (5-for-11) wasn't far behind Taylor, finishing with 14 points and five assists, while Bul Kuol (3-for-6) chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal. Kalidou Diouf, who was double teamed most of the night, was right on the cusp with nine points and dished out a career-high six assists. Jordan Heading also had nine points on the night.

Down 4-3, CBU went on a 5-0 spurt to take its first multi-possession lead of the night off a Kuol trey and strong layup from De'jon Davis. It didn't last, however, as shots weren't falling for the Lancers in the waning minutes of the first half, putting CBU down 26-21 at halftime.

DSU came out of the break and built its lead to seven, but Taylor knocked down a three-pointer and the Lancer defense made a stop to go back on the attack. Diouf banked in the layup to put CBU within two, 28-26.

The Trailblazers managed to create some separation, however, and jump out to a 12-point lead, 56-44, heading down the stretch.

Unfazed, CBU closed the last four minutes and 50 seconds on a 16-4 run to tie the game and send it into overtime. Diouf, Taylor and Kuol made clutch free throws to put the Lancers within five, 56-51, and force a Dixie State timeout.

With 91 seconds left on the clock, Kuol made a crucial hustle play, grabbing an offensive board and keeping it in bounds before drilling a triple from the corner, 57-54. The Trailblazers scored on their next possession, but the Lancers were knocking on the door as Todd rattled in a three-pointer of his own to put CBU back within reach, 59-57.

After the Trailblazers drew a foul, the pressure was too much for Trevor Hill as he missed the second of two to give the Lancers a fighting chance with less than 17 seconds left to play. Taylor came up clutch with about three seconds on the clock, sinking a shot from behind the arc to tie the game up, 60-60.

Much like how the game started, the two teams exchanged baskets in the opening possessions of extra time, but Dixie State got a big stop on defense to take the lead, 67-65. Even after the Trailblazers made a free throw to make it a three-point game with only two seconds left to play, CBU kept battling.

Unfortunately, the shot wouldn't fall, sealing the 68-65 result for Dixie State.

CBU returns home to take on rival Azusa Pacific on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the CBU Events Center.