RIVERSIDE --- A sellout crowd of 5,105 fans piled into the California Baptist University Events Center on Saturday night, as the Lancers hosted the Grand Canyon Lopes in a Western Athletic Conference battle.
The Lancers (17-7, 7-3) are still two games ahead of the next WAC opponent for sole possession of second place. As for the Lopes, they improve to 10-13 on the season and 5-4 in conference play. The Lancers are back home next week, as it takes a break from WAC play to host Westcliff on Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m.
Down 13 with less than four minutes left, the Lancers launched a furious comeback that fell just short in the 103-98 defeat.
The Lancers fought all the way back within four points with 2:20 left in regulation but ultimately fell to the Lopes, 103-98, in what was a historic night in two respects. CBU set a new single-game record for three-pointers in a single game, with 19 on a 52.8 percentage (19-36), and Milan Acquaah erupted for a double-double of 30 points, 10 assists on a night where he scored his 1000th career point as a Lancer.
Acquaah, who came into the game needing 14 points to get to 1,000 exactly, hit that mark at the 15:32 mark in the second half on a pull-up jumper. He hits the historic mark in just about a season and a half of play donning the Lancer uniform. He added five rebounds and three steals to his stat line, as well.
Along with three-point shooting, rebounding helped keep CBU in the game. The Lancers had a 34-28 advantage on the boards. Five Lancers scored 12 or more points in the game.
Ferron Flavors Jr. had 15 points, and De'jon Davis and Brandon Boyd added 14 each. Davis also had nine rebounds and Boyd five assists. Tre Armstrong chipped in 12 points on 4-5 shooting from three.
Boyd also recorded a milestone in his career, scoring his 1,500th point in his collegiate career between Idaho State and CBU. Boyd transferred to CBU after a three-year playing career at Idaho State that left him with 1,237 points.
The Lancers were in a 91-78 hole with 3:52 left in regulation but cut the deficit down to four, 92-88, less than a minute and a half later. Threes from Flavors, Armstrong, and a bucket from Zach Pirog and Acquaah fueled CBU's 10-1 run.
It was as close as CBU would get, as Grand Canyon seemingly had a response for every Lancer field goal down the stretch.
CBU trailed by 11 at halftime (50-39) but came out of the break on a 12-4 run to pull within a single possession (54-51) two-and-a-half minutes into the second half. A pair of threes from Flavors and Acquaah did quick damage for the Lancers.
The game was tied four times throughout the contest, and the lead changed hands six times, as both teams went back and forth in the first half.
GCU shot a season-best 62.7 percent from the field (19-36) and a season-best 61.1 percent from the 3-point line (11-18). Both teams combined for 30 threes on the night – the most for both programs on the season. The Lancers' previous-best came against Mississippi Valley State (28), while the Lopes came against Valparaiso (21).
