Tuesday, March 7
Las Vegas, Nev
12 PM
California Baptist University
17-15,7-10WAC
69
vs
62
#9 Abilene Christian
13-17,5-11WAC
1
2
F
Abilene Christian
30
32
62
California Baptist
36
33
69
Photo by: Elijah Hickman
Tre Armstrong's Shooting Fuels CBU's Opening Round Win over ACU
3/7/2023 4:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS--- California Baptist University men's basketball team won the opening game of the WAC Vegas tournament 69-62 over Abilene Christian. The win was the first-ever over the conference-runners up from a year ago and sent the Lancers to the WAC Quarterfinals to face #1-seeded Sam Houston.
The Lancers avenged a home loss that they suffered at the hands of the Wildcats in early February and earned the first win over Abilene Christian in program history. The seven-point win over the Wildcats marked the second WAC tournament win in program history in their third year of being eligible for postseason play.
Tre Armstrong was the story of the first half, scoring 16 points on four made threes. Two of those threes came on four-point plays that Armstrong converted. Every Lancer scored in the opening 20 minutes, and the defense top-40 perimeter defense held ACU to 1-7 shooting from range.
Foul trouble plagued both teams in the second half, with the two teams combining for five offensive fouls and 24 free throw attempts. Taran and Tre Armstrong knocked down back-to-back threes with under five minutes to halt an offensive drought by CBU and swing the momentum back toward the Lancers. The Wildcats got within four with 0:42 seconds remaining; however, the Lancers converted critical free throws and strung together big-time stops to hold their lead and win a hard-fought battle.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
The perimeter defense of CBU has been stellar all season, with one of their only hiccups caused by these same Wildcats back in February. The Wildcats knocked down over 50% in that contest and buried the Lancers in the second half. CBU flipped the script on the Wildcats in this game, holding them to 2-20 shooting (10%) and running them off the line.
Tre Armstrong scored a season-high 23 points off the bench for CBU, converting 5-6 from distance and shooting 60% from the field. Armstrong's 23 were the most by a Lancer in the WAC tournament. Blondeau Tchoukuiegno and Riley Battin both scored in double-figures on a combined 8-11 shooting and 12 rebounds.
"I always pride myself on being ready to go and doing whatever coach (Croy) needs." said Tre Armstrong about his performance.
CBU will face #1 Sam Houston State on Thursday, March 9th, at noon in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The Lancers avenged a home loss that they suffered at the hands of the Wildcats in early February and earned the first win over Abilene Christian in program history. The seven-point win over the Wildcats marked the second WAC tournament win in program history in their third year of being eligible for postseason play.
Tre Armstrong was the story of the first half, scoring 16 points on four made threes. Two of those threes came on four-point plays that Armstrong converted. Every Lancer scored in the opening 20 minutes, and the defense top-40 perimeter defense held ACU to 1-7 shooting from range.
The 4-point play King is at it again with 2 of them just in the first half. UNREAL. 😱🔥🔥😱#LanceUp⚔️ #WACVegas pic.twitter.com/PeSKKgJaI7
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) March 7, 2023
Foul trouble plagued both teams in the second half, with the two teams combining for five offensive fouls and 24 free throw attempts. Taran and Tre Armstrong knocked down back-to-back threes with under five minutes to halt an offensive drought by CBU and swing the momentum back toward the Lancers. The Wildcats got within four with 0:42 seconds remaining; however, the Lancers converted critical free throws and strung together big-time stops to hold their lead and win a hard-fought battle.
Taz with the dagger at Michelob Ultra. 🗡️🔥😤#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/OirJmMWOd5
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) March 8, 2023
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
The perimeter defense of CBU has been stellar all season, with one of their only hiccups caused by these same Wildcats back in February. The Wildcats knocked down over 50% in that contest and buried the Lancers in the second half. CBU flipped the script on the Wildcats in this game, holding them to 2-20 shooting (10%) and running them off the line.
Tre Armstrong scored a season-high 23 points off the bench for CBU, converting 5-6 from distance and shooting 60% from the field. Armstrong's 23 were the most by a Lancer in the WAC tournament. Blondeau Tchoukuiegno and Riley Battin both scored in double-figures on a combined 8-11 shooting and 12 rebounds.
"I always pride myself on being ready to go and doing whatever coach (Croy) needs." said Tre Armstrong about his performance.
CBU will face #1 Sam Houston State on Thursday, March 9th, at noon in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Team Stats
ACU
CBU
FG%
.403
.468
3FG%
.100
.444
FT%
.667
.630
RB
38
33
TO
12
16
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
6
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballG
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