California Baptist University
16-14,9-7WAC
UT Arlington
13-17,6-10WAC
CBU Secures Three Seed in Senior Day Victory over UTA
3/8/2025 11:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team secured the three-seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday night, defeating UT Arlington 70-68 in Riverside. Before the game, CBU honored its five seniors on Senior Night and would make sure they did not leave Riverside empty-handed, picking up the one-possession victory.
CBU finishes the 2024-25 regular season 16-14 overall and 9-7 in league play to earn them the third spot in the conference standings. The seeding is the best in program history and will set them up for a quarterfinal battle with Tarleton at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The loss for UTA cemented them in the seventh seed, where they will face Grand Canyon in the opening round.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
Early momentum swung in CBU's favor as a 14-2 run gave the Lancers a 20-10 lead over the Mavericks. UTA chipped away at the deficit and would bring the game back to a one-possession game with 6:47 to play in the first half. The Lancers would keep UTA at arm's length for the remainder of the frame and take a 36-29 lead into the locker room. CBU's defense was fully engaged in the opening 20 minutes, holding the Mavericks to 29% shooting in the first half and would not allow any Mavericks to score over six points.
UTA would be the aggressor out of the locker room, connecting on back-to-back triples to make it a one-point game two minutes into the frame. The Mavericks would take their first lead of the second half with a 10-0 run and force Rick Croy to burn a timeout. The Lancers and Mavericks would go back and forth down the stretch of the second half as they fought for control of the momentum. UTA would connect on a critical corner three with 4:14 remaining to take a 61-60 lead, but Kendal Coleman would follow that up with a turnaround jumper in the paint to retake the lead.
The Mavericks wouldn't let up and hit another crucial perimeter shot from Brandyn Talbot to take a 68-66 lead with 1:07 to play. Dominique Daniels Jr. would weave his way into the paint on the ensuing possession and knot the game at 68 apiece with a floater. The Mavericks would miss their next shot and have to foul Daniels Jr. with just four seconds remaining. The referee crew went to the monitor and determined the foul to be flagrant, awarding CBU two free throws and possession of the ball. Daniels Jr. would split the free throws and then get fouled again with under two seconds to play. Daniels Jr. would split the free throws again to give CBU a 70-68 lead with one second on the clock. UTA would attempt a three-quarter court heave that would come up well short as CBU hung on for the victory.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Daniels Jr. was the leading scorer on the night, scoring a game-high 24 points on eight made field goals. Daniels Jr. scored the final six points for the Lancers to help aid his squad in the thrilling victory. Kendal Coleman was the only other Lancer in double-figures with 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his final game at Fowler Events Center.
NEXT: The Lancers will open the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament against #6 Tarleton on Thursday, March 13, at 8:30 PM PT.
