By: Andrew Shortall, Director of Athletics Communications
RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University men's water polo battled fifth-ranked Pepperdine on Wednesday, and faced just a one-goal deficit going into the fourth quarter at the Lancer Aquatics Center.
PJ McDonough scored another hat trick for the Lancers, who also got another strong game in the cage from
Gabe Thorne, but it was the Waves who pulled away in the end for the 14-9 win after scoring five of the six fourth-quarter goals.
Thorne finished with 14 saves and three steals in the game. McDonough had three goals and an assist to keep his hot streak going, as he's now scored 18 goals in the last four games against top-10 competition.
Hunter Barnett added two goals for the Lancers, as well.
Zach Lowery tacked on a goal, assist and two steals, as well.
Pepperdine improves to 4-2 this season, while the seventh-ranked Lancers move to 4-4. The two teams will get a rematch when the Waves come back to Riverside on Sunday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m.
Both teams traded goals in the early going, as the game featured seven ties, including 2-2 at the end of the first quarter and 5-5 at halftime.
The Waves first took a two-goal lead a minute and 15 seconds into the third quarter. McDonough brought CBU back to a 7-7 tie with back-to-back goals with 22 seconds of each other at 6:29 and 6:07 to play in the third.
A penalty-shot goal from
Cameron Cullen with 5:01 left in the third kept things close, as Pepperdine went into the fourth up 9-8. The Waves would score two-straight goals to start the fourth for the first three-goal lead of the game, 11-8, with 5:57 to go.
Angel Sanchez scored the next goal for CBU to make it 11-9, but Pepperdine went on to score the next three goals in the 14-9 victory.
PEPPERDINE AT A GLANCE
The Waves seem to be a perennial top-five power in water polo, with 20 top-five, end-of-season rankings in their history. Pepperdine has made 13 NCAA Championship appearances and won it all in 1997. It has also won 11 conference titles in its history, including the 2019 Golden Coast Conference crown.
UP NEXT
CBU is scheduled to host Western Water Polo Association foe, Fresno Pacific, next on Friday at 1 p.m. The game will be statted live on
The FOSH.
The Lancers will then play host to Air Force with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 26, before their regular-season finale against Pepperdine on Feb. 28.
