California Baptist University
Minnesota
Lancers Look to Build On Milestone Win against Washington at the SoCal Challenge
11/21/2022 1:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE – Coming off a statement win against Washington in Seattle, the California Baptist University men's basketball team looks to make it two-in-a-row against Power 5 opponents as they prepare to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Monday night's SoCal Challenge contest. 🚨CBU downs Washington on the road for first win over a PAC-12 opponent.🚨#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/vowuH04xYx
The Lancers will have a busy week, playing three games during this holiday stretch, following up Monday's contest with a Wednesday game against either Southern Illinois or UNLV, and capping the week with hosting duties as Central Michigan comes to Riverside on Saturday.
The Lancers went 2-0 last week, led by sophomore point guard Taran Armstrong who averaged 13 points, six assists, and four-and-a-half rebounds per game against CSUN and the Huskies. Joe Quintana was the catalyst in the Lancers' upset of Pac-12 foe Washington, dropping 18 points during his 38 minutes of work in Seattle.
The Lancers have a shot at pulling off back-to-back Power 5 wins with Monday's matchup against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers enter the game with an identical record to CBU, with their lone loss coming at the hands of DePaul, 69-53. The Gophers star duo of Dawson Garcia and Jamison Battle has been limited to just Garcia for the time being. Still, he is holding up his end of the bargain by averaging 17.5 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes per game.
Minnesota has been winning games by a slim margin, only 2.8 points per game, but has shot significantly better than its opponents (.446 compared to .370). The Gophers are a liability at the free throw line, though, shooting just 54.3% from the stripe so far this season.
Based on the outcomes of both games on Monday, the Lancers will face Southern Illinois or UNLV on Wednesday. The Saluki's enter the SoCal Challenge with a 3-1 record, while the Running Rebels are still perfect on the season at 4-0.
Central Michigan will visit Riverside on Saturday to close out their California trip. The Chippewas landed in Southern California with a 1-2 record looking to make it a winning tally against High Point on Monday and CSUN or Tennessee State on Wednesday. Saturday will mark the first-ever game between these two programs.
