California Baptist University
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
The Lancers Prepare for a Two-Game Texas Road Trip
1/23/2024 4:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team will prepare for a two-game road trip to the Lone Star State to face the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and the UTRGV Vaqueros.
The Lancers are riding a three-game winning streak in conference play and are coming off an 83-76 victory over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday. CBU is now 11-7 overall and 4-3 in conference play, including an impressive 9-3 record at the Fowler Events Center. The Lancers are seventh in the WAC Resume Seeding Standings and fourth in the win-loss column.
Dom sets the DI program record with 39 points as the Lancers make it three in a row at home. 😱😤🔥#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/r3x45GBsGn
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) January 21, 2024
SCOUTING UTRGV:
The first game of the road trip will be on Thursday at the UTRGV Fieldhouse to face the Vaqueros. The Vaqueros enter the game 2-6 in WAC play and 6-14 overall. Five of the Vaqueros' six wins have come at home, including their two conference wins over Utah Valley and Seattle U.
The Lancers and Vaqueros have matched up eight times previously, with CBU holding the series edge 5-3. CBU has won three of the last four matchups against the Vaqueros, including an 88-70 victory last season in Riverside on Senior Day. CBU has struggled in Edinburg with just one win at the UTRGV Fieldhouse that came in March of 2019.
The Vaqueros are led by JUCO transfer Elijah Elliott, who averages 15 points per game and has scored over 20 points in the last two games. UTRGV is sixth in the nation at getting to the free throw line, averaging 26 attempts per game, and is 13th in the country at converting free throws at 18 makes per contest. UTRGV is also a highly-ranked defensive unit that averages, forcing 16 turnovers per game.
SCOUTING SFA:
The final game of the Texas road trip will be in Nacogdoches to visit the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Saturday. The Lumberjacks will first host Grand Canyon on Thursday before taking on the Lancers and currently sit in second in the win-loss column at 12-6 in the WAC and third in the WAC Resume Seeding behind GCU and Tarleton. SFA'a's only two conference losses came at the hands of Tarleton by two and to Utah Tech by five.
The Lumberjacks are led by a myriad of different players, with six guys averaging more than eight points per game. SFA is led by junior forward Sadaidriene Hall, who averages 10.7 points per game and was named Second Team All-WAC last season.
SFA owns the third-highest-scoring bench in college basketball, averaging nearly 38 points per game. The Lumberjacks also excel at turning their opponents over, doing so 18 times per game, which ranks them fourth in the country in that department.
The Lancers and Lumberjacks will be matching up for just the third time since the Lumberjacks joined the WAC in 2021. SFA won both of the two previous games, including an 80-58 victory in Nacogdoches last season.
CBU AT A GLANCE:
The Lancers are led by Dominique Daniels Jr., who is currently second in the conference in scoring and three made at 18.8 and 45 made triples, respectively. Daniels scored a season-high 39 points in the win over Southern Utah on Saturday night, marking the highest scoring output by any player in the WAC this season and setting the DI program record for points in a game. Daniels is the only player in the conference with multiple 30-point games with three. The performance netted Daniels the WAC Newcomer and Player of the Week, becoming the third player to sweep the awards this season.
🧹𝗡𝗢 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗧𝗘𝗥🧹
— California Baptist Lancers (@CBULancers) January 22, 2024
Khloe and Dom sweep this week's @WACsports conference awards!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/75XOteDZEX
CBU has hung its hat on the defensive end of the court, ranking 26th in the country in scoring defense. The Lancers hold their opposition to 64.3 points per game and have not surrendered an 80-point game this season.CBU has allowed 70 points only four times this season and has five times held an opponent under 60 points. The Lancers have also held their opponents to 9-62 (14.5%) from distance in their last five outings.
‼️Record Setter‼️
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) January 21, 2024
🔥D1 Program Record for points in a game
🔥Tied for third most in a game in the NCAA this year
🔥Tied D1 program record for free throws made
🔥Most points by a WAC player this season
🔥Certified Bucket #LanceUp⚔️ @WACsports @mid_madness @MarchMadnessMBB pic.twitter.com/Ar4rowD9F7
Game 1:
Opponent: UTRGV
Date and Time: Thursday, January 25 at 4:30 PM PT
Location: Edinburg, TX- UTRGV Fieldhouse
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: FOX AM 1350
Game 2:
Opponent: Stephen F. Austin
Date and Time: Saturday, January 27 at 12 PM PT
Location: Nacogdoches, TX- William R. Johnson Colisseum
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: FOX AM 1350
