California Baptist University
7-3,1-1WAC
UC Riverside
4-7,0-0Big West
Stellar Three-Point Shooting Leads CBU past UCR in the Crosstown Showdown
12/16/2023 9:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team ended their two-game slide with a 70-69 road thriller over their crosstown rival, the UC Riverside Highlanders.
The Lancers are winners of four of the last five in the series between CBU and UCR and have now won back-to-back matchups in the series. CBU moves to 7-3 on the season, which is their second-best start of the DI era, and currently has the third-best record in the Western Athletic Conference behind Tarleton and Grand Canyon.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The Lancers jumped out all over the Highlanders, scoring the game's first seven points. The Highlanders would respond with an 11-3 run to take their only lead of the ball game at 11-10.
CBU would unleash an offensive flurry midway through the first half, highlighted by a 16-4 run to capture their largest lead of the night at 33-19. A part of the scoring run was the first bucket as a Lancer for Kendal Coleman, who drilled a three-point field goal on his first attempt of the night. Coleman, an LSU transfer, was recently cleared by the NCAA transfer rules and saw nine minutes of action for CBU.
The play of the night came with 2:44 remaining in the first half when Dominique Daniels Jr. dived to the rim and converted an incredible alley-oop pass from Yvan Ouedraogo over the top of a Highlander defender. Daniels led the Lancers in scoring through the first 20 minutes with 12 points.
The Highlanders would bring the score within double-digits heading into halftime at 37-29. The 37 first-half points were the second-highest total for the Lancers in the opening half after scoring 41 points on Southern Utah in late November. CBU shot a blistering 56% from the field in the first 20 minutes and knocked down six of their nine three-point attempts. The Lancer defense held UCR to 32% shooting from the floor and only allowed the Highlanders to knock down three shots from behind the arc.
UCR would chop down the Lancer's lead to just four points at the 15:51 mark of the second half. CBU responded with a pair of baskets to quell the run, but the Highlanders would not go away and put pressure on the Lancers through much of the second half. UCR would get the lead to one possession at the 9:11 mark at 55-53 in favor of CBU.
The Highlanders tied the game at 60 apiece to force a Rick Croy timeout at 5:58. Brantly Stevenson would come through big down the stretch, scoring nine points on three made triples in the final six minutes. None of those was bigger than the one Stevenson hit at 1:09, which gave the Lancers a 70-67 lead to force a Highlander timeout.
UCR would convert a layup out of the timeout to bring the score within one with 55 seconds remaining. CBU would miss a three-point shot, but Yvan Ouedraogo kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound to force UCR to foul with eight seconds left. The Lancers missed the free throw attempt, and the Highlanders would corral the rebound and quickly call timeout. Out of the timeout, Barrington Hargress of UCR split two defenders and had a good look at a floater, but Ouedraogo got his fingertips on the attempt, and Hunter Goodrick grabbed the rebound to seal the victory for CBU.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Daniels Jr. led the scoring charge for CBU with 16 points on seven made field goals. Daniels was one of four Lancers in double-figures, including Goodrick (14 points), Blondeau Tchoukuiegno (15 points), and Stevenson (11 points).
Goodrick produced a very efficient line on the night, converting five of his six field goal attempts and hauling in eight rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Ouedraogo led the rebounding effort for CBU with ten, including three offensive boards.
CBU shot 50% from the field on the evening as a unit, going 25-50 from the floor. CBU lived at the three-point line, hitting ten of their 18 attempts (55.%). The Lancers are now 3-0 on the season when they connect on double-digit three-point field goals and are 46-13 since 2018.
NEXT: The Lancers will return home for a matchup with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Tuesday, December 19, at 7 PM.
