RIVERSIDE --- Tre Armstrong recorded his first career double-double as California Baptist University kicked off its three-game homestand with an 83-61 victory over Lamar University.
Armstrong led a red-hot offense all night, tying his career-high in threes made, going 6-12 from beyond the arc. Armstrong finished with a team-high 25 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, and went 8-14 from the field.
"We're a team with a lot of good three-point shooters, but we haven't been shooting the ball well for the whole season," said Tre Armstrong. "We've had the confidence in ourselves and from the coaches that that would turn because of the work we do shooting the ball. If you're open, you got to let it fly, and we did that tonight."
CBU shot 50 percent from the field (27-54) and nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line (15-38) while holding Lamar to 14 percent from deep. The lead only changed hands three times, as the Lancers remained in control for most of the night.
Chance Hunter and Ty Rowell joined Armstrong on the hot shooting night, as the pair recorded four threes each. Rowell ended his night with 18 points, while Hunter recorded 14 points and five rebounds. Taran Armstrong, who is currently fourth in the NCAA in assist per game, guided the Lancers' offense with a team-high 10 assists.
"Thought we played a pretty complete game," said head coach Rick Croy. "If you look at the stat sheet, it reflects that. We took good care of the basketball with 23 assists and 12 turnovers. We obviously made three-point shots, and that's a big part of what we do. We were able to get to the free-throw line. I thought there were a lot of guys that played with tenacity defensively. We were much more connected."
The Lancers were able to pull away from the Cardinals late in the first half after Tre Armstrong hit his fourth three of the night.
The Armstrong three capped off a 9-0 run by CBU, as the Lancers went into the break with a comfortable nine-point lead, 34-25.
CBU never looked back coming out of the break, as Armstrong's strong shooting continued in the second half.
Elijah Thomas gave the Lancers their largest lead of the night after an offensive rebound led to an and-one, putting the Lancers up 26 on the Cardinals, 70-44.
"We know we are going the right direction," added Tre Armstrong. "We have a lot of faith in what we are doing. We're just going to stay with it and keep working hard. We know things are going to go our way if we just follow the process and stay true to what we believe in."
"Saturday night is going to be a great night in the Events Center," said Croy. "Homecoming is special for CBU to get your alums back. We're going to have a number of our alum basketball guys back. Get a chance to honor Michael Smith (2013-17) going into the Hall of Fame. It will be a special night."
UP NEXT:
The Lancers welcome The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Saturday, Feb. 12, with tipoff at 7 p.m. During halftime, CBU will honor Michael Smith and six other Lancers into the CBU Hall of Fame.
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.
