OREM --- California Baptist University closed out its three-game road trip in Utah on Saturday, as the Lancers fell to the Wolverines of Utah Valley, 63-54.
The win for the Wolverines produces a series split for both teams, as they each won on their respective home floors. The Lancers move to 15-14 on the season and 5-11 in the Western Athletic Conference, while UVU improves to 19-9 on the year and 10-6 in the WAC.
Taran Armstrong paced the Lancers during Saturday's matinee, recording his first career 20-plus point game with a career-high 22 points. The freshman point guard went 8-21 from the field while grabbing four rebounds, blocking two shots, dishing out an assist, and grabbing one steal.
Armstrong is currently the only freshman in the NCAA to average over 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds per game on the year. The last freshman guard to record a 10/6/5 average on the season came from Ja Morant of Murray State in the 2017-18 season.
Both teams struggled to find any type of rhythm throughout the game, as each side shot under 40 percent from the field and 22 percent from the 3-point line.
"We obviously played well at Dixie (on Thursday), and we came in and prepared for this game," said head coach
Rick Croy. "The guys fought, for 40 minutes, we fought. We obviously got to become more proficient offensively. Utah Valley had something to do with that. We're very connected. We're much different than we were three weeks ago. We're much improved, our leadership is stronger, and now we have to move it forward."
The Wolverines were able to get the charity stripe 35 times during the 40 minutes of action, grabbing 26 of their 63 points from the line.
Tre Armstrong finished as the final Lancer in double figures with 12 points, going 5-14 from the field. Dan Akin was near his 13th double-double of the season but finished with nine points and nine rebounds.
"I feel great," said Croy. "We're going to go back to work. It's all about a work response. We talk all the time about getting one percent better. I'm going to challenge each of our guys to get three percent better. Let's see if each of us can get three percent better, that's coaches included, and attack this thing. We've been attacking, and I think we have to take it to another level. I'm very excited to get back to work."
UP NEXT:
The Lancers will host Chicago State for the final home game of the regular season in the CBU Events Center on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. CSU will arrive to Riverside with confidence as it upset WAC leader NM State, 61-59, on Saturday.
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.
