California Baptist University
14-14,7-7WAC
Utah Tech
6-23,2-12WAC
CBU Earns Critical Road Win Over Utah Tech as the Race for Seeding Heats Up
3/1/2025 11:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ST. GEORGE, UT--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team ended their two-game slide on Saturday night as they defeated the Utah Tech Trailblazers 61-57 at Burns Arena.
The win was a critical one in the Western Athletic Conference race as it improved their record back to .500 at 7-7 and put them in a three-way for third place with Abilene Christian and Tarleton. CBU currently owns the tiebreaker over both after sweeping ACU in the regular season and holding a better overall record than the Texans. CBU's final seeding will come down to the final week of WAC play and will, in all likelihood, be decided in the final game.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Unlike the first time these two teams met this season, this matchup was a defensive struggle, with both sides having difficulty generating offense. The first basket of the game for the Lancers would not come until the 15:40 mark when Tylen Riley connected on a midrange floater to make it 6-2 in favor of UTU. CBU's defense was the catalyst all night long, and it would force the Trailblazers not to score for four and a half minutes in the first quarter, allowing CBU to crawl back into the game and take the 14-10 lead. The Trailblazers would lead by as many as seven down the stretch of the first half and would eventually hold a 30-26 lead after scoring as time expired.
CBU grabbed the momentum out of the locker room by scoring seven of the first ten points to take a 34-33 lead and force UTU to take an early timeout. Both defenses would make it difficult on one another as the half progressed, and neither team could build any momentum. CBU snagged its largest lead of the game at 55-47 after Kendal Coleman scored on a second-chance opportunity. The Trailblazers would attempt to climb back in the game but were repeatedly stonewalled by the Lancer defense, which never allowed them to get within one possession. CBU would force multiple missed shots down the stretch, including a highlight-level swat by Martel Williams that would seal the 61-57 road victory for CBU.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
The trio of Riley, Coleman, and Williams was the driving force of CBU's victory as they all would submit gritty performances for the blue and gold. Riley led the way with a game-high 24 points, finishing just one point shy of his career-high that he set a few weeks ago against Grand Canyon. Riley converted all ten free throws and did his part on the glass with seven rebounds. Coleman was a force on the glass with a season-high 18 rebounds, seven of which were offensive. Coleman made it a double-double with 14 points and had a trio of momentum-shifting dunks. Williams made timely plays all night for Rick Croy, scoring 11 points and coming up with the aforementioned game-sealing block.
CBU's rebounding prowess was on full display in this game as they would outrebound the Trailblazers 44-32 and hold a 17-10 offensive rebound advantage. The Lancers entered the game as the top team in the WAC in offensive rebounding and the 66th-best team in the nation. CBU would also illustrate their ability to make free throws by shooting 85% from the charity stripe (17-20) compared to just 8-12 shooting from UTU.
NEXT: The Lancers will return home for the final week of WAC play, starting with Tarleton on Thursday, March 6, for a 7 PM start.
