California Baptist University
14-13,7-9WAC
Tarleton State University
20-7,13-3WAC
The Lancers Can't Contain Red Hot Texans in Stephenville
2/24/2024 4:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STEPHENVILLE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team could not slow down the white-hot Tarleton Texans on Saturday afternoon, falling 82-65.
The Texans entered the contest as the hottest team in the Western Athletic Conference and one of the hottest teams in college basketball, winning each of their last seven games heading into Saturday. The win puts the Texans within a half-game of the top-seeded Lopes.
The Lancers' record drops to 14-13 and 7-9 in conference play. The loss puts the Lancers in a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings, sitting one game above the nine-seed, which is the final spot for the conference tournament.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The Lancers controlled the pace of the game early, opening a 10-2 advantage before the first media timeout. CBU would add to their lead before the next media timeout off a Tylen Riley drive to the basket to push the lead to 19-8. The Texans would slowly but surely chip away at the deficit and eventually take their first lead of the game at 28-27 with 2:31 to play in the first half. The two teams would exchange baskets in the final two minutes, but the Texans would lead heading into halftime at 35-32.
CBU shot a blistering 58% from the floor in the opening half, but seven turnovers kept the Texans in the game and helped them take the lead into halftime.
A pair of Blondeau Tchoukuiegno free throws with 16:09 remaining gave the Lancers their final lead of the game at 41-39 before the Texans mounted a 22-8 run to snag momentum permanently. The Lancers would sneak the deficit back under double digits at 66-58 with 6:47 to play, but the Texans would snuff out the momentum with a 16-7 run to end the ball game.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Tchoukuiegno led the way for the Lancers with 17 points and led in assists with five. Scotty Washington and Yvan Ouedraogo each had 13 in the game, while Chris Chiles had eight points on two made triples in his first start as a Lancer. As a unit, the Lancers shot very well at 49%, but the Texans simply made more shots and shot 56% from the field to get the home win.
The Lancers owned the glass despite the loss, outrebounding the Texans 31-22 and doubling them up on the offensive glass 8-4. The difference in the game was turnovers, as the Texans only committed five and turned the Lancers over 17 times. Tarleton scored 26 points off the turnovers compared to seven for CBU.
NEXT: The Lancers return home for three of the next four games as the regular season nears its end. The homestand begins with SFA on Thursday, February 29, at 7 PM.
