RIVERSIDE --- For the first week of the regular season, California Baptist University's men's basketball team will welcome San Francisco State (Nov. 9) and Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 13) to the state-of-the-art CBU Events Center.

The 2021-22 men's basketball team is comprised of 10 returners and seven newcomers, with four of the five starters returning for the season. The Lancers will be led by Ty Rowell, Reed Nottage, Tre Armstrong, and Elijah Thomas as the most experienced players on the roster, while Dan Akin (UMBC), Pavel Zakharov (Gonzaga), and Chance Hunter (Long Beach State) all transfer in for their first seasons with the Lancers. Another newcomer is Taran Armstrong, the brother of Tre Armstrong and the No. 2 prospect out of Australia. He was a scholarship recipient and a standout at the Centre of Excellence, a program that has developed notable alumni like Matthew Dellavedova, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum, Andrew Bogut, and Aaron Baynes.

GAME INFORMATION – Tuesday, Nov. 9
Opponent: vs. San Francisco State
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: CBU Events Center
Video: ESPN+ / WAC Digital Network (International Only)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Radio: Fox Sports 1350 / iHeartRadio App

Tuesday's game against the San Francisco State Gators will serve as the home opener for the Lancers. San Francisco State is a public university in San Francisco and is part of the 23-campus California State University system.

Notable Notes:

• CBU holds a 2-0 all-time series record against the Gators, with the last meeting on March 10, 2017, in a 71-50 Lancer win.
• The Gators had the 2020-21 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as this will be the first game they will play since Feb. 29, 2020.
• From that 2019-20 team, only five players remain on the roster.
• Of those five, Jacob Huynh returns as the leader on the team with 22 games played and 15 starts as a redshirt freshman. Huynh averaged 19.5 minutes per game and 5.2 points per game.
• Sean Orr is also a notable player for the Gators, playing in all 28 games with an average of 14.7 minutes per contest.
• The Gators averaged 72.5 points per game in the 2019-20 season while allowing their opponents to average 74.2 ppg.
• Vince Inglima enters his fifth season at the helm of the program.

GAME INFORMATION – Saturday, Nov. 13
Opponent: vs. Mississippi Valley State
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: CBU Events Center
Video: ESPN+ / WAC Digital Network (International Only)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Radio: Fox Sports 1350 / iHeartRadio App

As for Saturday's contest, the Lancers will host the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils for the third time in the Events Center. MVSU is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)

Notable Notes:

• CBU holds a 2-0 all-time series record against MVSU, with the last meeting on Dec. 22, 2019, in a 103-66 victory.
• The Delta Devils open their season on the road against St. John's (NY) on Nov. 9.
• MVSU opens the season with six straight road games.
• In the 2020-21 season, the Delta Devils finished with a 2-22 overall record and a 2-13 record in the SWAC.
• Caleb Hunter, a 5-10 sophomore guard from Plymouth, Michigan, returns as MVSU's leading scorer with 12.3 points per game.
• Lindsey Hunter enters his third season as the program's head coach and is the 11^th head men's basketball coach in the program's history.

Social Media:

Don't forget to follow @CBUMBB on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with the season.

Season Tickets:

Season tickets and single-game tickets remain available through the CBU Events Center box office. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online in advance at cbulancers.com/basketballtickets. Admission is free for CBU students, faculty and staff.
 
The Lancers have experienced significant growth with their home attendance in recent years, finishing only behind San Diego State, UCLA and USC of the 14 NCAA Division I programs in Southern California in 2020. CBU averaged 3,181 fans per contest in 2019-20, marking the third-straight season of growth for the Lancers, a staggering 291 percent increase in fans per game since 2017.
 
Events Center Entry Policy for Men's Basketball:

The State of California issued guidance in August for indoor mega-events with over 1,000 people that went into action on Sept. 20 and was recently extended to include upcoming men's basketball home games being played at the CBU Events Center.

All ages are welcome to attend games. Guests (ages 12 and up) attending will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event. Fans will be required to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status unless socially distanced or actively eating or drinking.