California Baptist University
8-6,0-1WAC
Grand Canyon
10-4,1-0WAC
CBU Opens WAC Play at Grand Canyon
12/29/2022 7:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PHOENIX – California Baptist University men's basketball opened Western Athletic Conference play on the road tonight, taking on Grand Canyon in Phoenix. The Lancers got strong performances from Joe Quintana and Taran Armstrong but could not keep pace with a late Lope run as GCU took the conference opener by a score of 73-59.
Quintana led the scoring charge for the Lancers with 14 to go with four boards, two assists, an block and a steal, all in a game-high 32 minutes. Taran Armstrong was the other Lancer in double-figures, recording 10 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.
The first half began as expected as two teams ranked in the top 50 in the nation in defense battled to a low-scoring first-half spread of 31-27, with GCU holding the slight advantage. The two teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first ten minutes against some of the best defensive opposition they had faced to this point in the season.
The Lancers took advantage of the freebies given to them by the Lopes, going a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line, but struggled from the field, shooting just 29% (9-31) in the opening half. CBU would use a 12-2 run in the middle of the half to build a lead of as much as seven, but the Lopes would chip away to take a slim lead into the locker room.
Joe Q is too nice from deep! The Lancers are on a 12-2 run in the desert!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/JRHXgOyjeg— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) December 30, 2022
CBU opened the second half with a strong offensive push, regaining the lead with 13 minutes to go. After that, the Lopes got hot, going on a 14-5 run to build a lead they would not relinquish. CBU did well to make the Lopes work for every point, but GCU responded by spreading the load with four guys scoring in double figures.
With their record now standing at 8-6 overall and 0-1 in the WAC, the Lancers will remain on the road for the second game of the WAC slate, traveling to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Redhawks of Seattle U on New Year's Eve. Saturday's game will tipoff at 3:00 p.m. in the Redhawk Center.
