California Baptist University
15-14,8-7WAC
Tarleton State University
12-18,7-8WAC
Johnson's Perfect Shooting Night Spurs CBU to Critical Win over Tarleton
3/6/2025 11:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball picked up a crucial win on Thursday night as they dominated the Tarleton Texans 68-48 in Riverside.
The win was spurred on by an impressive shooting display from Javonte Johnson, who went a perfect 6-6 from the three-point line to help CBU improve its Western Athletic Conference record to 8-7. The win guarantees the Lancers a top four seed in the conference tournament next week and all but secures the three seed. The Lancers will need a few things to shake out in their favor on Saturday to clinch the third spot, but tonight was an excellent step in that direction. CBU's win over the Texans keeps them perfect over the Stephenville-based squad at the Fowler Events Center at 5-0.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
The first few minutes of the game were a precursor for the night as the Lancers started hot from the perimeter, connecting on their first five attempts. Johnson was the catalyst behind the hot start as he would connect on four early triples to give CBU an early advantage. Johnson's fourth triple of the half pushed the Lancer lead to 15 before the ten-minute mark of the first half. Tarleton would regroup and gather themselves and begin to mount a comeback. TSU would enact a 10-0 run to force Rick Croy to huddle up his squad and cut the lead down to just four points. CBU came out of the timeout with renewed energy and would finish the half on a 6-2 run to offset the Tarleton momentum and take a modest 36-28 lead into the locker room.
Tylen Riley hit a triple right out of the second-half gates to put the Lancers up to double digits and would not look back for the remainder of the game. The lead blossomed all the way to 17 before the Texans would slash it back to 11 with 12:43 to play. CBU would not let its foot off the gas and would outscore the Texans 19-10 over the final stretch of the game to result in a 68-48 win for the home team.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Johnson was the story of the night as he led the way with a game-high 19 points and did not miss a single field goal. He would connect on all six of his triples and add three rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Johnson's perfect night would make him the first Lancer to go perfect from the floor (minimum six made field goals) on all triples. Riley, Kendal Coleman, and Dominique Daniels Jr. would all contribute double-digit scoring outputs in the victory as well.
CBU's perimeter shooting, led by Johnson, was one of the key stats in the final box score as they would tie a season-high with 13 makes on 28 attempts (46%) and outscore the Texans by 27 in that category. CBU also kept their turnovers to a minimum, which was critical, going against one of the best teams in the NCAA in terms of forcing turnovers. The Lancers would turn the ball over twelve times compared to 17 for the Texans and would score 16 points off of those opportunities. CBU would never trail in the ball game, leading wire-to-wire for the third time this season.
NEXT: CBU will wrap its regular season on Saturday, March 8, as they face UT Arlington in Riverside for Senior Night.
