PHOENIX --- California Baptist University hit the road for its final away series of Western Athletic Conference play Friday night, as the Lancers fell in a hard-fought battle to Grand Canyon, 71-61.
The Lancers now sit at 10-8 on the season and 4-5 in the conference, while the Lopes improve to 13-3 and a WAC-best 7-0 in conference play.
The Lopes entered the matchup ranked second nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to 37.2 percent. Only Houston's 36.5 percent tops the Lopes for the nation's best.
California Baptist finished the night going 24-57 from the field, a 42 percent clip, which only five other teams on the Lopes' schedule managed to do.
For a team that has controlled the paint for most of the season, the Lancers got the better half of the Lopes inside, outscoring the Lopes, 36-28, with points in the paint.
Four Lancers finished in double figures, as Elijah Thomas led the team with 13 points, going 6-9 from the field with six rebounds. Gorjok Gak and Ty Rowell scored 12 points apiece, while Reed Nottage added 11.
Gak was a handful for the Lopes' two big men in Asbjorn Midtgaard and Alessandro Lever, as he caused problems for the duo all night.
The Lancers' difficulty was points off turnovers, as the Lopes scored 13 points off the Lancer's 10 turnovers.
Midtgaard, a senior transfer from Wichita State, leads the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 73.6 percent on the season. He finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, going 4-5 from the field.
The Lopes also managed to get to the free-throw line quite often, recording 29 attempts to the Lancers' 14.
UP NEXT:
The Lancers will look to bounce back Saturday night in the final game of the two-game series. The game is set to tip-off at 6 p.m. (PST).
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:Â
Don't forget to follow @CBUMBB on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with the season.
