California Baptist University
8-9,1-2WAC
Tarleton State University
8-11,3-1WAC
First Half Shooting Woes Plague CBU in Loss at Tarleton
1/16/2025 8:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STEPHENVILLE, TX--- The California Baptist University men's basketball continued on its three-game conference road trip with a stop in Stephenville, Texas, to take on the Tarleton Texans on Thursday evening. CBU outscored Tarleton in the second half but could not complete the comeback, falling 67-57 on the road.
The loss brought CBU to 1-2 in the early portion of the Western Athletic Conference schedule and 8-9 overall, while the Texans improved to 3-1 in the standings and 8-11 overall.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Scoring was hard to come by for both teams in the early going of the contest, combining for just three made field goals before the first media timeout. The scoring drought continued until the halfway point of the first half before both teams found a rhythm offensively. Martel Williams gave CBU a spark off the bench to get the offense percolating, scoring five straight points to cut the deficit to two points in the opening frame. Tarleton jumped out on a 6-0 run to gain the momentum in their favor and would ultimately close out the half ahead by double digits at a score of 31-20.
The second half, similar to the beginning of the first half, got off to a slow start for the two clubs. Tarleton would get its second-half offense going behind a 6-0 run to take its largest lead of the ball game at 40-24 with 14:30 remaining in the game. Williams and Dominique Daniels Jr. would keep the Lancers in the game down the stretch, converting their multiple opportunities at the line into points. An and-1 opportunity from Javonte Johnson with just under ten minutes to go would cut the Tarleton lead to nine and force the Texans to huddle up.
CBU kept the pressure on the Texans down the stretch of the game and would even slash the Tarleton advantage to a single possession with 3:25 to play off a pair of made Daniels Jr. free throws. The Texans would score on the ensuing two possessions to keep the Lancer comeback at bay and would salt the game away at the free-throw line for the 67-57 result.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Daniels Jr. and Williams combined for the majority of the CBU offense in the defeat, scoring 35 of the team's 57 points. Daniels Jr. scored 19 and made the most of his opportunities at the free-throw line by knocking down 13 of his 15 attempts. Williams was similarly successful from the charity stripe, with six makes on seven tries and scoring 16 points in total for the Lancers.
Aj Braun achieved a significant milestone by scoring his 1,000th career point with his first basket of the night in the second half. Kendal Coleman had a near double-double with eight points and nine boards, while Adam Moussa led the team in assists with six in his return to Stephenville.
NEXT: The Lancers will complete its road trip in Abilene, Texas, on Saturday as they take on the Abilene Christian Wildcats at 4 PM PT.
