Wednesday, October 21
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
California Baptist University
at
UCLA
Photo by: Diego Mazun
MBB Preview: Getter’s New Look Lancers Head to Westwood on Wednesday
10/19/2026 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES, CA --- California Baptist Men's Basketball will unofficially begin the program's new era on Wednesday, as coach Kyle Getter guides his program into the first exhibition of his tenure. With six months of hype building towards the start of Getter's head coaching career, the new-look Lancers will take on UCLA inside historic Pauley Pavilion.
Getter was named the second head coach of CBU's Division I era on April 6, placing the first-time head coach in charge of a team that punched its ticket to March Madness a season ago. The Lancers wrapped up the 2025-26 campaign with a 25-9 record, capped off with the first WAC Tournament Championship in program history.
However, the team Getter carries into Los Angeles will have a much different look than the one that battled the Kansas Jayhawks inside San Diego's Viejas Arena. Only five players return from last season (G, Odartey Blankson, F Rene D'Amelio, G Jalen Dollar, G Jordan Muller, and G Justas Stonkus), with only three of those returners (D'Amelio, Dollar, and Muller) drawing playing time over the championship run. Getter and his staff brought in ten newcomers to fill out his inaugural roster, including three transfers and seven incoming freshmen.
Two of the transfers, guards Terry Coner Jr. and Ethan Duncan, have postseason pedigree. Coner Jr., a Division II All-American last season, helped Oklahoma Baptist make a run to the Division II Final Four. Duncan, a former Division II All-American in his own right, was part of a Texas Tech squad that reached the Elite Eight in 2023.
Duncan joins the Lancers after spending last season with Associate Head Coach Vic Sfera at Lipscomb University. Sfera also has ties to the Lancers' third transfer, forward Nick Richart, who played under Sfera at UNC Charlotte.
The official start of the Getter era comes on Tuesday, November 3, when the Lancers welcome North Florida to the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. But Wednesday's trip to Westwood gives CBU fans their first look at the 2026-27 squad.
CBU's opponent, the UCLA Bruins, enters the 2026-27 season ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP Poll. Like the Lancers, the Bruins saw their season end in the NCAA Tournament last season, a 73-57 loss to eventual runner-up UConn in the tournament's second round. The Bruins finished 24-12 last season, including a 17-1 mark inside Pauley Pavilion.
The Lancers were also dominant at home, finishing 15-0 in Riverside. CBU owns the fifth-longest active home win streak (19 games) in Division I entering the season.
Wednesday will see two Ohioans, Getter, a Miamisburg native, and UCLA's Mick Cronin, a Cincinnati product, square off in the coaches' boxes. Cronin is in his eighth year with the Bruins and has taken his team to the Sweet 16 or further three times during that span, including a run to the Final Four in 2021.
Junior guard Trent Perry highlights the Bruins as a Preseason All-Big Ten Team honoree.
The Lancers and Bruins have never met in men's basketball, although the two universities do have a storied past, including postseason meetings in softball, women's basketball, and women's soccer. Because Wednesday's contest is labeled an exhibition, it will not count as the official first meeting between the two.
Wednesday night's exhibition is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Getter was named the second head coach of CBU's Division I era on April 6, placing the first-time head coach in charge of a team that punched its ticket to March Madness a season ago. The Lancers wrapped up the 2025-26 campaign with a 25-9 record, capped off with the first WAC Tournament Championship in program history.
However, the team Getter carries into Los Angeles will have a much different look than the one that battled the Kansas Jayhawks inside San Diego's Viejas Arena. Only five players return from last season (G, Odartey Blankson, F Rene D'Amelio, G Jalen Dollar, G Jordan Muller, and G Justas Stonkus), with only three of those returners (D'Amelio, Dollar, and Muller) drawing playing time over the championship run. Getter and his staff brought in ten newcomers to fill out his inaugural roster, including three transfers and seven incoming freshmen.
Two of the transfers, guards Terry Coner Jr. and Ethan Duncan, have postseason pedigree. Coner Jr., a Division II All-American last season, helped Oklahoma Baptist make a run to the Division II Final Four. Duncan, a former Division II All-American in his own right, was part of a Texas Tech squad that reached the Elite Eight in 2023.
Duncan joins the Lancers after spending last season with Associate Head Coach Vic Sfera at Lipscomb University. Sfera also has ties to the Lancers' third transfer, forward Nick Richart, who played under Sfera at UNC Charlotte.
The official start of the Getter era comes on Tuesday, November 3, when the Lancers welcome North Florida to the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. But Wednesday's trip to Westwood gives CBU fans their first look at the 2026-27 squad.
CBU's opponent, the UCLA Bruins, enters the 2026-27 season ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP Poll. Like the Lancers, the Bruins saw their season end in the NCAA Tournament last season, a 73-57 loss to eventual runner-up UConn in the tournament's second round. The Bruins finished 24-12 last season, including a 17-1 mark inside Pauley Pavilion.
The Lancers were also dominant at home, finishing 15-0 in Riverside. CBU owns the fifth-longest active home win streak (19 games) in Division I entering the season.
Wednesday will see two Ohioans, Getter, a Miamisburg native, and UCLA's Mick Cronin, a Cincinnati product, square off in the coaches' boxes. Cronin is in his eighth year with the Bruins and has taken his team to the Sweet 16 or further three times during that span, including a run to the Final Four in 2021.
Junior guard Trent Perry highlights the Bruins as a Preseason All-Big Ten Team honoree.
The Lancers and Bruins have never met in men's basketball, although the two universities do have a storied past, including postseason meetings in softball, women's basketball, and women's soccer. Because Wednesday's contest is labeled an exhibition, it will not count as the official first meeting between the two.
Wednesday night's exhibition is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
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