California Baptist University
9-10,2-3WAC
Utah Valley University
14-6,6-0WAC
CBU Fall Short to Red Hot Wolverines on Thursday Night
1/23/2025 11:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball returned to Riverside on Thursday evening as they played host to the red-hot Utah Valley Wolverines for a nationally-televised matchup on ESPNU. The road squad would stay hot with a 74-69 victory following a dominant second-half performance.
The win keeps the Wolverines unbeaten in conference play at 6-0 and atop the Western Athletic Conference standings. For the Lancers, their record now drops to 2-3 in the early weeks of conference play and 9-10 overall.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The Lancers embraced the challenge from the tip as they quickly built up a 19-12 lead over the Wolverines, led by a dominant start from star guard Dominique Daniels Jr's offense. Daniels Jr. scored 12 of CBU's first 19 points and would pour in 16 before halftime. Utah Valley would close in a bit on the Lancers following a put-back layup to cut the lead to 28-25, but a corner pocket triple from Martel Williams, followed by another basket from Daniels Jr., would tip the scales back in CBU's favor as the half came to a conclusion. The Lancers would ultimately close the half on a 9-0 run and take a commanding 37-25 lead into the locker room.
CBU converted 50% of its first-half attempts and dominated the boards by a margin of 25-15. Daniels Jr.'s superb first half was complemented by the trio of Kendal Coleman, Aj Braun, and Wiliams, who combined for 19 points on equally efficient shooting.
UVU's second-half assault came early as they would score on both of their opening possessions to slice the lead nearly in half in the first minute. The Wolverines surge would continue until they finally regained the lead at 47-46 with 13:35 on the clock. Daniels Jr. would knock in a pair of baskets to quell the run, but the Wolverines would respond with a 13-2 lead to take full control of the momentum. CBU would fight its way back to make it a one-point game with 5:12 remaining, but again, UVU responded with a 6-1 run to halt the comeback bid.
The Wolverines would connect on a late dunk and a pair of free throws to remain perfect in conference play with the 74-69 win.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Daniels Jr. would lead the way with his tenth 20+ point performance of the season, scoring 22 points on nine made field goals for the Lancers. Coleman collected another double-double on his resume, posting ten points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 27 minutes of action. Braun rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and eight rebounds.
CBU's dominance on the glass this season continued tonight as they would hold a 43-32 rebounding advantage and would double up the Wolverines on the offensive glass 14-7. The free-throw line, a normally strong point for CBU, was the bugaboo tonight for the Lancers in the defeat after shooting 7-14 from the charity stripe, including some key misses down the stretch.
NEXT: The Lancers will hit the road again on Saturday, January 25, as they make the trip to Cedar City, Utah, to take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds for a 5:30 PM PT tip.
