California Baptist University
SE Louisiana
Armstrong and Rowell Help Power The Lancers Over SLU
12/4/2020 5:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE --- California Baptist University captured its first win of the season Friday evening, as the Lancers beat the Lions of SE Louisiana in the final series matchup, 83-66.
For the third straight game, the Lancers had a different player post a career-high, as Tre Armstrong led the charge for the Lancers with a career-best 27 points. He went 9-14 from the field, 4-8 from the 3-point line, and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. Armstrong also tied his career-high in rebounds with seven.
Armstrong was dialed in from the start, as he helped the Lancers spark a 14-0 run in the early minutes, going on an 8-0 run all by himself.
Tre Armstrong is on an 8-0 run by himself! Lancers take a 12-0 lead at the start. #LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/lv2iG4i9es
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 4, 2020
The Lancers went wire-to-wire over the Lions as the lead never changed hands, and the home team led by as many as 21 points throughout the game. Despite having four players foul out late in the game, the Lancers were dominant from start to finish, holding the Lions to 14 percent from the 3-point line (3-22) and 31 percent from the field (19-62).
California Baptist won the rebounding battle (50-38) and used transition basketball to its favor, with 24 of the team's 83 points coming off fast breaks.
One of the biggest plays off the fast break came from Gorjok Gak, as the 6-11 center went coast-to-coast to give the Lancers a 21-6 advantage over the Lions at the 11:30 mark in the first half.
Gorjok Gak goes Coast-to-Coast 🍇#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/gYdZJWWLUi
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 4, 2020
The Lions tried to claw back late in the second half, but the deficit would never shrink below double digits as the Lancers ran away from start to finish.
Ty Rowell was right behind Armstrong with 20 points, going 6-12 from the field and 3-6 from deep. Rowell and Armstrong become the first Lancers to score 20-plus points in a game since De'jon Davis and Milan Acquaah accomplished that feat in the overtime victory over Seattle U on Feb. 29, 2020.
Tonight's win also crossed off a milestone for head coach Rick Croy, as he records his 300th career victory as a head coach. He now holds a 300-91 overall record and is 170-56 in his 13 seasons with the Lancers. Joining Coach is longtime assistant and current Director of Basketball Operations, Doc Wellman, who has been by Croy's side for all 300 of his wins.
BIG PICTURE:
CBU: The Lancers have now had three different players lead the team in scoring in the first three games. With Ty Rowell (USC), Reed Nottage (SE Louisiana), and Tre Armstrong (SE Louisiana) posting career-highs in the first three games, it marks the first time the Lancers have had a different leading scorer in each game to start a season in the NCAA Division I era. CBU will host three 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 to face the University of Arizona on Dec. 16.
SLU: The Lions pulled off the victory on Wednesday night, 81-80, shooting a season-best 50 percent from the 3-point line. The Lions entered Wednesday's game shooting 12 percent and finished today's game shooting 14 percent. SLU had three players in double figures and were led by Keon Clergeot. 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 Aggies of UC Davis on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 1:30 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.
