By: Andrew Shortall, Director of Athletics Communications
Box Score 1 RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University men's water polo finished its weekend off with a battle against eighth-ranked Pepperdine on Saturday in the Lancer Joust.
The 19
th-ranked Lancers gave the Waves all they could handle in a 9-7 loss. CBU battled back from a 2-0 deficit three minutes into the game to tie the game six different times, lastly at 7-7 with three minutes left in regulation.
Pepperdine scored the go-ahead goal with 2:20 to play and when CBU came up empty on its final offensive possession with 31 seconds remaining the Waves drew an exclusion and called timeout.
CBU pulled its goalie to play six-on-six, looking to force a turnover but the Waves just managed to score an insurance goal on the open cage with a second left to secure the two-goal win.
Despite the loss, it was a good result for California Baptist as it looks to move up the NCAA rankings. The Waves are 12-7 and on a six-game winning streak, which includes a 16-14 win over Cal, which was ranked second at the time.
Zach Lowery led the Lancers with two goals, two steals and a drawn penalty.
Tristan Felberg played big in the cage with 10 saves for a .556 save percentage (10-18) and two steals.
Hunter Barnett had an all-around game with a goal, assist, two steals and two drawn ejections.
Joseph Griffin had a goal, two drawn ejections and a steal.
Cameron Cullen also had a pair of assists and a steal in the game.
The Lancers also got goals from
PJ McDonough,
Matt Olsen and
Toby Bumgardner. McDonough kept his historic scoring streak alive and well, as he's now scored in all 21 games he's played this season.
McDonough's goal streak is tied for the fourth-longest streak in CBU's single-season history. His scoring streak actually goes back to 36 games overall, as he scored in all 12 games in the 2020-21 campaign and the final three games of 2019. McDonough earned All-WWPA First Team honors and NCAA Division I Second Team distinction last season, which made him the first Lancer to earn First or Second Team All-American status in Division I.
The Lancers steamrolled Crafton Hills, 21-2, in exhibition action later on Saturday. They got a game-high four goals from Cullen, three goals and an assist from
Gavin McKenzie and two goals each from Griffin,
George Rice,
Simon Taylor,
Marcus Lodewyk and
Trevor Benge.
CBU is 11-10 this season and is heading into a huge Western Water Polo Association game at UC San Diego on Friday, October 15 at 6 p.m. The Tritons are ranked ninth in the NCAA and 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the WWPA.
