California Baptist University
0-2,0-0WAC
SE Louisiana
1-3,0-0Southland
Nottage Scores A Career-High Against The Lions
12/2/2020 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE --- Reed Nottage led all scorers on the night, as California Baptist University dropped a heartbreaker to SE Louisiana, 81-80, Wednesday night.
Despite the lead changing hands 17 times throughout the contest, the Lancers held control of the lead for 31 of the game's 40 minutes.
Nottage was a spark plug for the Lancers all night, playing all 40 minutes and finishing with a career-best 26 points on 9-17 from the field and 4-9 from the 3-point line. He also added nine rebounds and three assists to his line.
California Baptist enjoyed a 14-point lead at the 11:47 mark after Nottage hit a wide-open three on the fast break, 65-51.
Reed Nottage, oh my!!!
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 3, 2020
He's up to 22 points on the night. #LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/tEqOFktzAU
The Lancers maintained their double-digit lead for the next four minutes, but the Lions were able to cut into the deficit, scoring six straight points, trimming the lead to four, 71-67.
A step back three by Ty Rowell pushed the Lancers' lead back up to seven, 78-71, but the Lions rattled off eight-straight points to take their first lead since the first half. Nottage put the Lancers back on top with a second-chance layup at the 1:38 mark, and both teams went scoreless for the next minute and a half. A late turnover gave the Lions the ball with eight seconds left, and Isiah Kirby made a tough layup with 0.7 seconds left on the game clock to give the Lions the win.
Coming into tonight's game, SLU shot 12.3 percent from the 3-point line in its first three games. The Lions finished the night going 11-22 from deep to shoot a season-best 50 percent.
Gorjok Gak finished with a career-best 16 points and 13 rebounds, going 7-14 from the field. Elijah Thomas added nine points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
The Lancers entered Wednesday's game with 24 straight home opener victories, a streak that dated back to the 1995-96 season.
BIG PICTURE:
CBU: The Lancers will look to bounce back on Friday, as they will have the opportunity to play the Lions one more time. This marks the first time the Lancers will play a non-conference opponent twice on the season. The Lancers will host four more home games before Western Athletic Conference play starts. The Lancers' only non-conference road game will be against another Pac-12 opponent, as they will make the trip down to Tucson on Dec. 16.
SLU: The Lions entered tonight's game on a three-game losing streak. The last time they played the Lancers, CBU snapped a seven-game home winning streak. SLU is playing every game in December on the road. The series against the Lancers starts seven-straight games the Lions will play someone on the road.
UP NEXT:
The Lancers will host the Lions one final time on Friday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG:
All home and away games for CBU men's basketball will once again be available through Fox Sports AM1350 in the greater Riverside area and beyond. Braiden Bell will handle play-by-play responsibilities and host pre-game and post-game shows featuring exclusive interviews with the team and Coach Rick Croy. Fans can download the iHeartRadio app for free and listen to the CBU broadcasts from anywhere. Simply search for Fox Sports 1350 when using the iHeartRadio app.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Don't forget to follow @CBUMBB on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with the season.
