California Baptist University
2-1,0-0WAC
UC Riverside
1-2,0-0Big West
CBU Falls to UCR in Crosstown Showdown Thriller
11/12/2024 10:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team fell in a down-to-the-wire battle against their crosstown rivals, the UC Riverside Highlanders, on Tuesday evening by a score of 70-69.
The storied rivalry played its 10th edition tonight, with the Highlanders holding the advantage 6-4. The Lancers still have the series lead in the DI era at 4-2 and won the previous two meetings between the two Riverside-based squads. UCR picks up its first win of the season while CBU falls to 2-1 in the early portion of the non-conference schedule.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
CBU was the aggressor early on, as they consistently kept the Highlanders at arm's length in the opening period. The Lancers held a lead as large as nine in the first half, but UCR never let the game get too out of hand and would trail 37-30 heading into halftime. The first half was highlighted by some monstrous dunks by the Lancers, including a gravity-defying dunk by guard Martel Williams right on top of a Highlander defender. Williams led the offensive charge for CBU with eight points, and six other Lancers had multiple field goals made in the first 20 minutes.
CBU came out of the halftime break aggressive and quickly had the Highlanders down 12 at the 17:30 mark. The visiting team would battle back and cut the deficit to one score at 46-44, but CBU would stave off the momentum and take a six-point lead with 10 minutes remaining. UCR would make another push at the Lancers and would take its first lead at the 7:12 mark at 60-59. From that point, CBU and UCR would trade buckets down the stretch, with neither team able to push a lead of more than one possession.
With one minute remaining, Barrington Hargress of UCR hit a clutch stepback jumper to take UCR's largest lead of the night at 70-67. Dominique Daniels Jr. would draw contact on the ensuing possession to cut the lead down to one with 53 seconds on the clock. CBU would get the much-needed stop on the next UCR possession from a Kendal Coleman rejection, and the Lancers would huddle up to draw up a final shot. CBU got a good look at the go-ahead field goal from the left corner from Sal Silverstein, but it would not fall, and the Highlanders secured the rebound and ran out the clock for the 70-69 victory.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Daniels Jr. was the Lancers leading scorer tonight, with 20, including 9-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Coleman and Aj Braun both secured double-doubles with an identical stat line of ten points and ten rebounds. Brantly Stevenson was solid off the bench again for the Lancers, posting nine points on three made triples.
CBU was plagued by inconsistent shooting in the second half, recording just nine makes on 27 attempts over the final 20 minutes. CBU kept up its impressive free throw shooting, connecting on 14 of its 15 attempts for a 93% shooting night.
NEXT: The Lancers will remain in Riverside to welcome in the Long Island University Sharks on Friday, November 15, as a part of Parent and Family Weekend.
