PHOENIX --- California Baptist University's men's basketball team snapped Grand Canyon's nine-game win streak on Saturday, as the Lancers beat the Lopes, 65-62.
It had been more than 60 days since the Lopes' last loss, as they entered the game tied for the sixth-longest streak in the nation.
Despite the Lopes entering the series with the second-ranked defense when it comes to field goal percentage, the Lancers put together back-to-back shooting performances of 40 percent or higher. It marks the first time this season a team has put together a 40-percent clip against the Lopes on back-to-back nights.
The game was highly contested from start to finish, as the score was tied 11 times, while only three lead changes occurred in all 40 minutes of play.
For the most part, Grand Canyon was in the driver seat, recording over 28 minutes with the lead, but the resilient Lancers were never out of the fight.
In fact, CBU held the Lopes without a field goal for the final four minutes of the game.
Ty Rowell secured the game's final tie, 57-57, at the 3:13 mark after a nice midrange jumper.
From there on out, Malik Wade made a major impact on the game, as the freshman put the Lancers on top with a tough finish at the 1:29 mark.
It came down to free throws after that, as both teams spent the remainder of the game at the charity stripe. In fact, the final 11 points of the game came from the free-throw line from both teams.
Rowell led the Lancers on the night with 19 points and tied his career-high in assists with eight. Gorjok Gak finished his night with 13 points and four rebounds. Reed Nottage added in 11 points and five rebounds, while Malik Wade put together a 4-6 night from the field for 10 points. Elijah Thomas was also big for the Lancers, grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds with four points.
The Lancers held the Lopes to 37.3 percent from the field on the night, their worst shooting performance of the season. The last time the Lopes shot under 40 percent dates back to Nov. 26, 2020, in the season opener against Grambling (39.3).
FROM CROY:
"It was a fantastic college basketball game in what is probably right now the best college basketball environment. Tonight was special. We have a great group of people, and we captured a moment tonight. We have great respect for GCU, and they've been a very consistent team. They are very well-coached and have great leadership. We just talked a lot about staying in the grind and staying with it – the quality teams, they can win with defense. Just so many guys that were so tough tonight. I could go through the entire roster, and they were all tough. Malik is just an awesome competitor. He gives his max effort for this team every single night."
UP NEXT:
The Lancers will have a free weekend before they host Seattle U for the final conference matchup on March 5-6 in the Events Center.
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.
