EL PASO --- California Baptist University took game one of its Western Athletic Conference series against NM State Friday night, as the Lancers came away with an 85-75 victory over the Aggies.
The win moves the Lancers to 9-5 on the season and 4-3 in the WAC, while the Aggies fall to 3-4 on the year and 0-3 in conference play. It also marks the first time the Aggies have dropped a home conference game since the 2016-17 season when they lost to Utah Valley on Feb. 23, 2017.
Due to New Mexico's amendments to the Covid-19 policies for intercollegiate athletics, the state doesn't allow any games to be hosted in New Mexico. For the remainder of the season, the Aggies will host their men's and women's games at Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas.
It was a well-balanced attack from the Lancers, as Reed Nottage, Tre Armstrong, Gorjok Gak, and Elijah Thomas all finished in double figures.
Nottage led the Lancers with 19 points, going 7-8 from the field and 5-6 from the 3-point line. He's currently leading the conference in 3-pointers made (21) and 3-point percentage (60%) when it comes to the conference-only stats. It also marks the third-straight game he has made at least four threes.
Armstrong and Gak both added 18 points to the box score, while Thomas finished with 11.
NM State produced its largest lead of the game in the first five minutes after a 16-4 run put the Aggies up by eight, 16-8. Nottage quickly answered for the Lancers, though, hitting back-to-back threes to bring the game within two, 16-14.
The game was back and forth for the next 10 minutes until Armstrong took it upon himself to score six-straight points for the Lancers.
After the 6-0 Armstrong run, the momentum was on CBU's side as they closed out the first half with a 41-38 lead. The game's eight lead changes and four ties all came in the first half, as the Lancers never relinquished the lead in the second half. In fact, the game only came within one possession twice during the final 20 minutes.
The Lancers were rolling in the second half, shooting 61.5 percent from the field (16-26) and 57.1 percent from the 3-point line (4-7). Meanwhile, the Aggies, who shot 46.6 percent from the 3-point line in the first half (7-15), were held to 22.2 percent in the second half (2-9).
UP NEXT:
The Lancers will look to sweep the Aggies in the final game of the series on Saturday, Feb. 6. The game is set to tip 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:
Don't forget to follow @CBUMBB on Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with the season.
