California Baptist University
4-4,1-2WAC
Tarleton State
2-5,0-3WAC
Lancers Win First-Time Matchup Against Texans
1/15/2021 9:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE --- California Baptist University's men's basketball team started off the first-time matchup against Tarleton State University on the winning side, as the Lancers beat the Texans, 83-74.
The Lancers finished with four players in double figures, as Gorjok Gak and Tre Armstrong both had 18, Ty Rowell finished with 17, and Elijah Thomas added 11.
Gak was unstoppable for the Lancers all night, recording a career-high in points (18) and rebounds (17). He becomes the first Lancer to record over 15-plus rebounds since De'jon Davis did it on Feb. 29, 2020, in the Lancers' overtime victory over Seattle U.
🚨Double-Double Alert for Gorjok Gak 🚨#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/1z91mDPwnL
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) January 16, 2021
Despite the lead changing hands 12 times, California Baptist was in the driver's seat for 31 of the game's 40 minutes.
California Baptist shot 46 percent from the field, 50 percent from the 3-point line, and 88.5 percent from the free-throw line.
The Texans entered the game ranked 17th nationally in 3-point field goal defense, holding teams to 27 percent from deep and allowing only five made threes per game. The Lancers made sure that stat wouldn't stick, as five players combined to go 12-24 from beyond the arc. Armstrong was the biggest threat to the Texans, hitting four of his six attempts.
The Lancers led by as many as 16 points and went on a 13-0 run from the 17:51 mark to the 15:18 mark in the second half.
Ty Rowell for the threeeeee 🎙
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) January 16, 2021
Lancers are on a 13-0 run! #LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/YiemyZubdZ
Tarleton State tried its best to get into reach in the final minutes, applying full-court pressure, but the Lancers were near perfect from the free-throw line when it came down to the foul game.
CBU went 20-21 at the charity stripe in the second half, making 11 straight in the last five minutes of the game.
FROM CROY:
Well, I just thought we were really locked in on what we needed to do in a number of different areas. When you play against Tarleton, you got to take care of the basketball. They do a tremendous job pressuring the ball and I thought we were really focused and got that good ball-handling at a number of different spots. We took care of the ball. We also shared the ball to get each other baskets that was huge.
UP NEXT:
The Lancers will meet the Texans on the court again for round two on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 6 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.
