Depth Drives Lancers on Joust Finale

Saturday, September 29

Riverside, Calif.

9:30 AM

California Baptist University

Mercyhurst

Photo by: Andrew Shortall

Depth Drives Lancers on Joust Finale

9/29/2018 6:47:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

MERCYHURST BOX SCORE

CONCORDIA BOX SCORE

RCC BOX SCORE

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – On the second day of the Lancer Joust, California Baptist University tested its depth with three games in less than eight hours on Saturday.

The 14^th-ranked Lancers played two games back-to-back, resting their starters in a 13-6 win over Mercyhurst and then defeated Western Water Polo Association foe Concordia 18-9 in a non-conference game immediately afterward. CBU improves to 10-8 this season, while the Lakers drop to 11-5 and the Eagles drop to 4-9.

CBU also hosted Riverside City College for an exhibition to wrap things up Saturday and posted a 15-4 victory over the Tigers while still resting most of its starters.

Next week, the Lancers head back on the road next week to take on eighth-ranked UC San Diego in a Western Water Polo Association game Friday at 6 p.m. CBU will then compete at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Gary Troyer Tournament on Saturday where they will face Navy and Fordham at 11:40 a.m. and 3:40 p.m., respectively.

Eight Lancers scored against Concordia, but Dominick Nevarez led the way with six goals and an assist. It marked the sixth hat trick for Nevarez and is the second time he had at least six goals in a game.

"[Nevarez] is at his best when he puts himself in position and simplifies things, just catch and shoot the ball," Coach Kevin Rosa said. "He's had a lot of success when he just goes and finds open water, gets the ball, gets rid of it and puts it on cage."

Logan Mena added four goals, an assist and two steals, while Zach Lowery also had four assists and two goals versus the Eagles. PJ McDonough chipped in two goals and an assist, while Tommy Lotero (nine) and Gabe Thorne (eight) combined for 17 saves in the cage.

CBU scored the first four goals of the game against in less than eight-and-a-half minutes on Concordia. The Eagles never really managed to get a comeback going, with a three-goal deficit being as close as they would get.

When Concordia did cut the score down to 6-3, Nevarez, McDonough and Lowery rattled off three quick goals in the final 1:30 of the first half to give CBU a 9-4 lead at halftime. Mena and Nevarez both scored first for the Lancers in the second half to extend their run to 5-1 for an 11-4 lead with 4:24 left in the third quarter.

"[The Eagles] didn't play their starting goalie and we were able to take advantage of that," Rosa said. "It made the game easier. I felt good about the game, we got some information on them and will play them one more time before our conference game."

While a strong start carried CBU over Concordia, it was the Lancers' finish that made the difference against Mercyhurst. It took some time for the Lancers' offense to find their footing without any of their regular starters, as the Lakers held a 5-3 lead early in the third quarter.

Matt Miller helped keep CBU in the game, with 12 saves and a steal in the cage before the game was over. Offensively, ball movement created plenty of opportunities for CBU in the second half, as it outscored Mercyhurst 10-2 over the final 16 minutes.

Senior Royce Daniel Laverne tallied four assists, a goal and two steals in the win, while true freshmen Joseph Mireles (two assists), Riley Bumgardner (assist), Nick Johnson (four steals) and Hunter Barnett (assists) all had two goals in the win.

"It was a big mental battle in the first half. I knew [Mercyhurst] would be better today, and I think we got a little frustrated thinking it would be easy," said Rosa, whose team defeated the Lakers 20-6 on Friday night. "It wasn't easy at first, but in the second half we relaxed, played as a team, worked at it and did the things we needed to do."

Barnett scored consecutive goals in a minute, 10 seconds to tie the game at 5-5 with 5:25 left in the third quarter. It started an 8-0 run from CBU, which included two goals from Johnson, Bumgardner and one each from Laverne and Matt Diacono, to put CBU in front 11-5 with 3:10 left in regulation.

In the finale with RCC, Thorne had 10 saves and a steal in the game. Galgani led the offense with three goals, an assist and two steals, while Kyle Rasmussen also had himself a hat trick and Johnson two goals, an assist and two steals. Laverne ended his day with two assists, a goal and steal.