California Baptist University
11-11,4-4WAC
Southern Utah University
10-13,2-7WAC
CBU Stumbles Against Southern Utah on Thursday Night
2/6/2025 10:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team stumbled on Thursday night against Southern Utah, falling 60-57 to the visiting Thunderbirds. The loss drops the Lancer's conference record back to .500 at 4-4, maintaining their fourth-place spot in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
CBU began the game strong by building a 12-4 lead in the opening minutes of the game. Southern Utah chipped away at the deficit and would take its first lead of the night at the 8:02 mark off a pull-up jumper from Brock Felder. The Thunderbirds would expand its lead to as many as eight before settling on a 33-27 lead heading into the locker room. Neither team shot particularly well from the floor in the first half, with both teams shooting under 40% through the game's first 20 minutes of action.
SUU would open up the second half with a hot had and would rive its lead to the game's largest at 40-29 to force Rick Croy to huddle up his squad. The Lancers would score on back-to-back possessions out of the timeout to bring the crowd back into the game, but the Thunderbirds would cool off the momentum with a few buckets of their own. CBU made another run at the Thunderbirds, going on an 8-2 run to bring the game within a single possession with 7:38 to play. Once again, SUU responded and pushed its lead back up to seven points.
As the game began to reach its conclusion, Dominique Daniels Jr. and Javonte Johnson would score critical shots to bring the Lancers within one point with 49 seconds remaining. CBU would have its fair share of opportunities down the stretch of the game, but a pair of missed free throws and two Southern Utah offensive rebounds would seal CBU's fate as the Thunderbirds would grind out the 60-57 win.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Daniels Jr. paced the Lancer scoring with 18 points on seven made field goals, and he was followed by Aj Braun, who scored 12 points in 28 minutes of action. Johnson provided some spark off the pine, scoring nine points in 22 minutes.
NEXT: CBU will conclude its three-game homestand on Saturday, February 8, as they welcome in Grand Canyon for a 5 PM tip-off in the Fowler Events Center.
