IRVINE - California Baptist University men's water polo took on two top teams from the Big West on Saturday, dropping the pair against #13 LMU and #7 Long Beach State, 18-14 and 12-11, respectively.
GAME ONE: #13 LMU 18 - #16 CBU 14
Bodhi Bowden continued his incredible weekend, netting another four goals in Saturday's opener against the Lions. Logan Puhl also recorded a hat trick while assisting on two more scores for the Lancers. Caleb Teraoka and Simon Taylor each put one in the net themselves but assisted on three and two more scores, respectively.
The difference in the game was in the Lancers slow start, letting LMU win the first two periods 4-2. The second half saw CBU play the Lions even at 5-5 in the third and fourth periods but unable to make up ground from the opening half.
GAME TWO: #7 LONG BEACH STATE 12 - #16 CBU 11
Game two against The Beach was tight from wire to wire. It started with the Lancers jumping out to a 3-1 lead after the opening eight minutes, but Long Beach State answered in kind in the second to send the game into halftime tied at 4-4.
The third quarter brought clouds and rain into the mix as the two teams traded goals for six minutes until Teraoka and Matt Olsen scored on back-to-back trips, giving CBU a 5-4 edge at the end of the third.
Olsen opened scoring in the fourth, putting CBU up 10-8 just 17 seconds into the frame. The Beach would answer with a 4-0 run, though, anticipating passes and cutting off Lancer offensive pushes before they could start.
Cameron Cullen scored with 51 seconds left in the game, and the Lancer defense held The Beach without a decent attempt and got the ball back with about 10 seconds left. After a strategic timeout, the Lancers restarted play, but The Beach was ready, stealing another pass and killing the final seconds of the game clock.
Olsen led the Lancers with four scores against The Beach, as Cullen, Teraoka, and Ian Escoto each put in two. Bowden stretched his scoring streak to six-in-a-row with a goal in the fourth while adding a pair of assists.
Senior keeper Trevor Benge was in the cage again for most of the day; he totaled 17 saves and one assist.
The Lancers will close out the Big West/WCC Clash with two more games on Sunday. CBU will take on host and 9th-ranked UC Irvine at 8 a.m., and then results will determine who and where they play, either at 2:00 p.m. or 3:15 p.m.
