California Baptist University
14-14,7-10WAC
Stephen F. Austin
15-13,8-9WAC
The Lancers Fall in OT Heartbreaker to SFA
2/29/2024 11:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team came up short in overtime 62-60 on Thursday night as they battled the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in Riverside.
The two teams needed extra time after regulation ended in a deadlock at 51 all, but the visitors would pull out the game in overtime to move their record to 8-9 in conference play. The Lancers fall to 7-10 in the Western Athletic Conference standings, dropping them into the eighth and final spot for WAC Vegas as the final few games approach.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The Lumberjacks came out strong in the opening minutes of the game with an 8-2 start ahead of the first media timeout. The Jacks held the Lancers to 30% shooting from the floor through 20 minutes and would lead for the entirety of the opening frame. CBU would close the half on a 10-3 run to bring the score to 28-20 at the halfway point.
CBU's offense started to percolate as the second half got underway, building a 14-3 lead out of the gates to take their first lead of the game at 13:03 off of a Blondeau Tchoukuiegno layup. The Lumberjacks and Lancers would go back and forth through the remaining 11 minutes of regulation, with neither team building a lead that was more than one possession.
In the waning minutes of the second half, SFA and CBU held each other scoreless for three minutes as SFA was holding onto a 50-49 advantage. With 47 seconds remaining, the Lumberjacks would split a pair of free throw opportunities to bring the score to 51-49 at the 47-second mark. Scotty Washington would misfire on a three-point attempt, but the Lancers retained possession from an offensive rebound. Tchoukuiegno would find Kendal Coleman on a wrap-around pass along the baseline that was slammed home by Coleman to tie the game at 51 with 15 seconds remaining. SFA would have two opportunities on the other end to win the game, but the CBU defense held tough, and the game would head to overtime.
In the overtime period, SFA struck first, but the Lancers quickly responded with a pair of scoring possessions to take the lead at 55-54. The two squads exchanged clutch triples in the final minute of overtime to knot the game at 60 with 25 seconds remaining. SFA would trickle down the time and convert a layup at the rim with under two seconds remaining, which would seal the victory for SFA 62-60.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Washington led the way for the Lancers in the scoring column with 19 points on four made triples. Washington played a career-best 44 minutes in the game and scored 15 of his 19 in the second half/overtime. Coleman had a noteworthy performance as well off the pine, posting a double-double with 12 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. Coleman was nearly perfect from the field as well, converting four of his five shots and had the game-tying dunk to send the game to overtime.
CBU won the rebounding battle by a ten-board margin 46-36, but turnovers would be their undoing as they turned the ball over 17 times to the Lumberjacks. SFA came into the matchup as the fourth-best team in college basketball at forcing turnovers, and they would play to their strength tonight.
NEXT: The Lancers will remain in Riverside for a critical contest against the UTRGV Vaqueros on Saturday, March 2 at 5 PM.
