RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University men's basketball held its Western Athletic Conference home opener with a matchup against a familiar foe in Dixie State on Wednesday in the Events Center.
It was a wild game that featured one big run after another, 18 lead changes and 12 ties that led to the Trailblazers pulling out a hard-fought, 79-76 win. It hands CBU its first home loss of the season, as it moves to 10-5 on the year and 0-2 in the WAC, while the Trailblazers improve to 8-9, 1-3.
Dan Akin put together a monster game of 23 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for his sixth double-double of the season for the Lancers.
Ty Rowell also poured in 16 points and six assists.
Tre Armstrong dropped in 12 points and seven rebounds, as well.
Chance Hunter had eight points and five rebounds and
Elijah Thomas dropped in seven points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.
"I think everyone that hit the floor tonight worked really hard at it. Not only to get ready for the game, but a few guys playing through some scratches," Coach
Rick Croy said. "I'm proud of all our guys. Very, very difficult loss when you play with a lot of toughness for that duration of the game and you don't finish it. It's not the first tough finish I've ever been a part of, but they sting."
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The Lancers gave themselves a shot of momentum and 21-15 lead eight minutes into the game with a 7-0 run consisting of a Rowell three, Akin dunk and Armstrong layup.
Dixie State responded with a 17-6 run of its own to go up 32-27 with 7:15 to play, but CBU fought back and cut its halftime deficit down to just one, 42-41.
Akin was a huge reason for that, as he finished with 14 points and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Rowell also had 10 points and four assists in the first half.
The Trailblazers looked to put the game away when it scored nine of the first 11 points to start the second half for a 51-43 lead. The Lancers shot back and took a 56-55 lead with a 13-4 run of their own. Six different Lancers scored in that run.
The back-and-forth continued, as Dixie State seized a 67-62 lead with six minutes to play. California Baptist went on a 9-0 run from there to take a 73-67 lead with 2:24 to play. The Lancers went up eight, 76-68, with 1:26 to play but DSU managed to end the game on an 11-0 run to secure the victory.
"We had a lot of guys step up and play with toughness. Guys made plays. We showed good resolve," Croy said. "I think they had us down eight with maybe 7-8 (minutes) to play. We made a real good charge. A lot of guys, like I mentioned, stepped up and we were able to put ourselves in a really good position to win the game. So, it hurts, it hurts a lot, not to finish the game."
UP NEXT:
CBU will continue a three-game homestand over six days when Utah Valley visits the Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. The Lancers will wrap up the stretch with Seattle U on Monday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. before they head to Texas for WAC games at Tarleton State (Thursday, Jan. 20) and Abilene Christian (Saturday, Jan. 22).
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.
