MALIBU – California Baptist University men's water polo did not shy away from the moment, up against the top-seeded and fifth-ranked Pepperdine on the road in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals.

The fourth-seeded, 16th-ranked Lancers dominated the Waves en route to a 20-13 victory in Pepperdine's famed Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. CBU led for nearly the entire game and trailed for a total of 10 seconds in the contest.

The Lancers have put themselves one more win away from their second conference title and NCAA Championship berth in the last four years. California Baptist will face third-seeded and 14th-ranked San Jose State Sunday at 1 p.m. back at Pepperdine, as the Lancers look to return to the NCAA Championships after making their debut in 2020 after they won the Western Water Polo Association Championship in the season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sophomore Logan Puhl put up double hat tricks for the Lancers, with three goals, three assists and a drawn ejection. Senior Thomas de Wit matched his six points with four assists and two goals. It was senior goalie Trevor Benge who turned away Pepperdine's attempt at a comeback bid with 15 saves for a 53.6 save percentage (15-for-28), including several impressive blocks in the second half that kept the Waves at a comfortable distance.

Sophomore Toring Stanley poured in a team-high four goals and drew two ejections for California Baptist, which also received four points from Caleb Teraoka (two goals, two assists), three from Ian Escoto (two goals, one assist) and two goals from Cameron Cullen (two steals).

Both teams traded goals in the early going, with Pepperdine snagging a 3-2 lead about three minutes into the contest. CBU fought back to hold a 6-4 lead at the end of the first quarter after two goals from Teraoka. The Lancers stretched their lead to five, 11-6, by halftime as Stanley scored twice in the opening 16 minutes, as well.

California Baptist's lead never shrunk below four goals the rest of the way, as Benge piled up eight saves in the second half, including seven in the fourth quarter alone.

The Lancers' win over Pepperdine was historic on a number of fronts. It marked the first time in the program's NCAA Division I era it has defeated a top-five ranked team, with CBU's 11-10 victory over then No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 3 serving as CBU's previous highest-ranked opponent win. It was also CBU's first-ever win over Pepperdine in the 12-game series that dates back to 2001.