California Baptist University
17-15,9-7WAC
Grand Canyon University
25-7,13-3WAC
CBU's Season Ends in WAC Semifinals
3/15/2025 12:57:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS, NV--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team ended their conference tournament run on Friday night as they came up short to Grand Canyon 75-66 in the semifinals.
The Lancers finished their season 17-15 and earned at least one victory in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. CBU reached the WAC semifinals for the first time in program history and was a few plays away from reaching the Championship game.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Defenses reigned supreme in the first half as both teams made life difficult for one another over the first 20 minutes of the game. CBU was in the driver's seat early, holding a modest lead of five in the opening few minutes. Grand Canyon would punch back and halt CBU from scoring for nearly nine minutes of game time as they would take a lead of as many as 11 points. Tylen Riley would end the scoring drought with a driving layup just before time expired to make the halftime deficit 25-16.
The Lopes would open the half with a much better offensive flow and would expand their lead to their largest at 37-21. CBU would show no signs of quitting and would get the deficit under single digits following a Javonte Johnson triple with 4:31 remaining. The Lancers would cut the lead all the way down to six, however the Lopes seemed to have an answer every time CBU would get close. The Lopes would close out the game from the free-throw win and hold on for the 75-66 final.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Dominique Daniels Jr. would end his incredible 2024-25 season with a team-high 18 points on six made field goals. Daniels Jr. finished the year with the highest single-season points per game average in program history at 19.6 points per game and came within 21 points of setting the single-season program record for total points with 567. The senior guard was named First Team All-WAC and finished in the top 30 in the NCAA in points per game average. Daniels Jr. will return next season after announcing his plans for one more season in Riverside last week.
Tylen Riley, Johnson, and Kendal Coleman all finished the season with double-digit efforts in the semifinals, led by Riley, who scored 14 points. Coleman recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, finishing his collegiate career with a solid effort on both ends. Coleman scored over 1,100 points in his career and hauled in 950 rebounds. CBU finished its season with over 15 wins for the sixth time in the last seven years (it had 13 wins during the COVID-shortened 2021 season) and recorded double-digit home wins for the sixth consecutive year.
