California Baptist University
14-9,7-5WAC
Utah Tech
10-14,6-7WAC
The Lancer's Comeback Falls Short in St. George
2/10/2024 4:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ST. GEORGE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team fell short in pursuit of a comeback attempt on Saturday afternoon, falling 85-78 to the Utah Tech Trailblazers on the road.
The loss concluded the season series between the Lancers and the Trailblazers, with Utah Tech pulling off the series sweep with the win. CBU falls to 7-5 in conference play but still maintains its third-place status in the Western Athletic Conference standings and will likely hold onto fifth place in the Resume Seeding.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The Trailblazers had the hot hand from the opening tip in the first half, converting 70% of their field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes. The two teams were neck-and-neck through the first seven minutes of action, but a 13-3 Utah Tech run gave the Trailblazers the momentum for the remainder of the half. The Trailblazer lead grew to as many as 19 in the opening frame, and they would take a 45-28 lead heading into the break.
The second half started out with more of the same for Utah Tech, with their lead reaching its peak at 20. After the deficit reached 20, a new Lancer team emerged and quickly strung together multiple scoring possessions and defensive stops to chop the lead in half with 13 minutes to play.
Utah Tech ran off seven more points to steal away the momentum from CBU, but the Lancers were far from down. After trailing 61-44 with 11:47 to go, the Lancers put together a 14-4 run to bring the lead into single digits. With under six minutes to play, CBU would score on three straight possessions, highlighted by two tough finishes by Blondeau Tchoukuiegno to bring the lead down to four with five minutes to go.
RIGHT BACK IN IT!! 👀👀#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/ZlxILLhWFy
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) February 10, 2024
The lead was trimmed down to one on four different occasions in the final five minutes of action, but Utah Tech was steady from the free-throw line and held the Lancer's comeback at bay. Jaylen Sears of Utah Tech finished off a career night with a tough basket in the lane while being fouled to extinguish the Lancer's momentum and seal the game. The Trailblazers would hold serve at home with the 85-78 victory.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
For the second straight game, Scotty Washington led the team in scoring with 20 points on 5-11 shooting from the perimeter. Washington nearly played the full 40 minutes for the Lancers and had his fourth 20+ point outing on the season.
The Lancers ran into foul trouble most of the afternoon, resulting in Hunter Goodrick and Blondeau Tchoukuiegno reaching their fifth foul before the game was over. Despite the foul trouble, Goodrick and Tchoukuiegno scored 27 points, hauled in eight rebounds, and dished out seven assists in a combined effort.
CBU held a decisive advantage on the offensive glass, outrebounding the Trailblazers 12-3 in that department and registering a +5 in total rebounding. The Lancers shot 61% from the floor in the second half after just 35% in the first half but gave up a 61% shooting night to Utah Tech that ultimately did them in. Despite the hot shooting, the Lancers only allowed Utah Tech to connect on three perimeter shots and held them to seven total attempts.
NEXT: The Lancers return home on Thursday, February 15, to play Utah Valley at 7 PM inside the Dale E. & Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center.
