California Baptist University
13-9,6-6WAC
Seattle U
11-10,4-5WAC
Lancers Close Out The Regular Season With A Win; Will Open WAC Tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday
3/6/2021 10:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE --- California Baptist University closed out the regular season of the Western Athletic Conference with a win on Saturday, as the Lancers beat the Redhawks of Seattle U, 79-76.
With the win, the Lancers finish the regular season at 13-9 and 6-6 in the WAC. The Redhawks fall to 11-10 on the year and 4-5 in conference play.
The Lancers will head to their first WAC basketball tournament as the fourth seed after splitting the conference series with Seattle U. The Redhawks will take the fifth seed, and the two teams will meet for a third-straight time in the opening round on Thursday, March 11, at 4:30 p.m. (PST).
CBU finished the night with four players in double figures, as Gorjok Gak recorded a team-high 16 points, going 6-10 from the field with nine rebounds. Elijah Thomas, who was named the Player of the Game, ended his night with 15 points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Reed Nottage and Ty Rowell were the final Lancers in double figures, as Nottage came away with 13 points and Rowell contributed 12. Rowell dished out seven assists in his 37 minutes of play.
Thomas sealed the victory for the Lancers in the final seconds, grabbing a steal in the Redhawks' final possession.
Thomas seals the game with a steal!#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/h3uaSJvUQl
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) March 7, 2021
The Redhawks opened the game in the driver seat with an early three-point lead, but a corner three by Mark Carbone would give the Lancers the lead for good.
Transition basketball at its finest!#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/M0thq9qF9t
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) March 7, 2021
CBU would go on to hold off the Redhawks for the final 32 minutes, as the lead would balloon to double digits right before the break. The Lancers went into the half with an 11-point lead, 39-28.
Coming out of the break, the Lancers took their largest lead of the night on a Thomas fast-break layup, 45-30. Seattle U was able to cut the deficit to one, 61-60, in the final seven minutes, but a putback dunk by Thomas would bring the Lancers back up by nine, 73-64, with a minute and a half to go.
RAISE THE ROOF!#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/0ZTZOAeCEW
— CBU Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) March 7, 2021
In that final minute and a half, 12 of the game's 19 points were scored at the free-throw line.
The Lancers ended the night shooting 54 percent from the field while holding the Redhawks to 36 percent.
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.
