California Baptist University
2-0,0-0WAC
UC Irvine
1-1,0-0Big West
Lancers Climb Out of Early Hole to Stun UC Irvine
11/7/2025 10:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
IRVINE, CA --- The Lancers completed the comeback on Friday, as CBU found themselves down early against UC Irvine, but managed to battle back for the road win. After an 11-point hole less than five minutes in, the Lancers flipped the switch to take down the reigning NIT runners-up, 69-61.
CBU is 2-0 to open the season, as Friday followed an 87-75 opening night victory against USC-Upstate.
"We had a lot of respect for UCI coming into the game," said head coach Rick Coy. "They are known for their defense and their physicality. We anticipated a big first punch. We thought we could absorb it better than that, but eventually we did settle into the game."
Things were not looking good early, as Irvine dominated the opening five minutes with an 11-0 run out of the gate. CBU responded with their first basket, a three from Dominique Daniels Jr., sparking a momentum change that led to a 14-4 CBU run to level the score at 17.
Daniels provided a spark once again with 2:58 remaining in the half when he gave the Lancers the lead on a fastbreak dunk.
DOMINIQUE. DANIELS. JR. 😤#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/HPKvbKvOIk
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) November 8, 2025
At the intermission, CBU carried a 29-26 lead into the locker room.
The lead only grew in the second half, as the Lancers mounted an 18-0 run to take a 19 point advantage and silence the Bren Events Center. But similar to the 19 point advantage CBU held in Monday's win, a comeback was on the horizon from the Anteaters as they looked to salvage a win in front of their home fans.
Irvine clawed their way within eight points of the Lancers, but by that point in the game, the Anteaters were forced to foul the Lancers on each possession. CBU capitalized on their free throw attempts, knocking down ten to keep the lead at three possessions or more down the closing stretches.
The Lancers also provided a spark with their work on the glass, as CBU racked up 55 rebounds to 32 by the Anteaters. Thomas Ndong led the team with 12 boards, while Jonathan Griman racked up a double-double of ten points and ten boards.
"I thought our buys brought the physicality after the first media timeout," added Croy. "I thought we were tough on the glass tonight. I didn't think it was going to be a beautiful game tonight, but credit to them, they never quit."
Offensively, the Lancers were led by senior Martel Williams, who celebrated his birthday with 17 points and seven boards. Daniels dropped 16 points to pair with a career-high seven assists.
Jurian Dixon and Jovan Jester Jr. led the Anteaters with 16 points each.
The Lancers will be back in action next week when Western Illinois makes its first-ever visit to the Fowler Events Center. The game will be part of a doubleheader, as tickets for the men's game will also come with admission to the women's game against San Jose State, scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
Tip-off against WIU is slated for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale HERE.
