CEDAR CITY, UT--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team began conference play 1-0 with a 91-66 road win against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Wednesday evening. The Lancers handed Southern Utah their biggest loss at home since the Thunderbirds joined the Western Athletic Conference last season.
CBU also collected their second-largest margin of victory over a WAC opponent on the road in program history and the largest road win over any opponent since February of 2020.
The Lancers now move to 6-1 on the season and are atop the Western Athletic Conference standings in the early portion of the season. The win marks the third time in the WAC era that the Lancers have won their conference opener and the second time they have done so on the road.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The offense for CBU came out of the gates sluggish, only netting seven points ahead of the first media timeout. Southern Utah connected on their first five field goals; however, the Lancers forced six Thunderbird turnovers to keep the deficit manageable. Scotty Washington jumpstarted the CBU offense off the bench and converted four triples in six minutes to extend the Lancer lead to as many as eight.
The Lancers kept the Thunderbirds at arm's length for the remainder of the half, never allowing them to get within five. Washington would add his fifth triple of the game ahead of the halftime buzzer to make the score 42-34 at the break. The Lancers shot 48% from the floor through the first 20 minutes but more impressively converted 7 of 14 from behind the arc compared to just one make for Southern Utah.
Washington led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Yvan Ouedraogo, who added eight points on 66% shooting from the field.
CBU dominated the second half from the start, jumping out to an early 12-point advantage. From there, it was all CBU as the defense clamped down on Southern Utah, forcing nine turnovers and outscoring the home team by 17 points. A 12-1 run by the Lancers blew the game open, capped off by a corner triple by Blondeau Tchoukuiegno. The lead grew to as large as 31, the largest in a game this season for CBU, and the Lancers would go on to close out the game 91-66.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
The 91 points by the Lancers were the most points scored by CBU since February 11, 2023. CBU now holds a 16-2 record when scoring over 90 points since they transitioned to DI in 2018.
Washington led all scorers in the game with a career-best 21 points on 60% shooting from the floor and six made triples. Washington was one of four Lancers in double-figures, including Ouedraogo (12 pts), Tchoukuiegno (16 pts), and Brantly Stevenson (15 pts).
Washington's career night helped the Lancers hammer the Thunderbirds in bench scoring, holding a 31-6 advantage in that department. Jonathan Griman was second in bench scoring for CBU with six points while adding three rebounds and a block in ten minutes of action.
CBU held a 27-point advantage from the arc, knocking down nine more triples than the Thunderbirds. The 11 triples made by the Lancers were the most on the season, and their 47% shooting from distance was also a season-best. Both teams shot 50% from the field, but the Lancers converted ten more field goals than Southern Utah and forced 17 Thunderbird turnovers.
COACHES CORNER:
"The strength of our team is unity. We had an incredibly balanced effort tonight. What we saw tonight was the culmination of a lot of work and competitive excellence from our guys," said Head Coach Rick Croy
NEXT: The Lancers will return home to continue WAC play with a Wednesday night tilt against the Utah Tech Trailblazers on December 6 at 7 P.M. PT.
