Friday, March 20
San Diego, CA
6:45 PM
California Baptist University
25-9,13-5WAC
60
vs
68
University of Kansas
24-10,12-6Big 12
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
California Baptist
18
42
60
Kansas
38
30
68
Photo by: Ryley Collom
CBU’s Historic Season Ends After a Near-Historic Second Half Comeback
3/20/2026 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN DIEGO, CA --- A raucous crowd inside San Diego's Viejas Arena nearly witnessed history, as the Lancers came within six points of the greatest comeback March Madness has ever seen. Led by the heroics of Dominique Daniels Jr., CBU gave the Kansas Jayhawks all they had, but in the end, the Lancers' dance came to an end, 68-60.
Kansas, the 4-seed in the East Region, advances to the Second Round on Sunday, where they will meet 5-seed St. John's.
"I told the guys in the locker room, my tears are tears of gratitude," said head coach Rick Croy. "Tonight was just a true, incredible representation of what these guys are all about."
Croy added, "They said we were going to do it, and they did it. And that's taking CBU to March Madness. And it means everything to our university. These guys mean everything to me."
California Baptist entered the locker room in a hole, trailing by 20 points after KU's Darryn Peterson connected on a 3-pointer at the halftime horn. CBU had done a good job of silencing Peterson, holding him to a 2-for-9 shooting performance entering the 4:00 media, but Peterson responded with four baskets in the closing stretch to enter the break with 15 points.
Peterson ended the game with 28.
Kansas grew its lead to 26 early in the second half. With backs against the wall, the Lancers came out swinging, led by the fifth leading scorer in the nation, Daniels Jr.
Daniels Jr. put on a show that had a crowd of 11,441 fans, predominantly cheering for CBU, on its feet. The graduate guard connected on 6-for-13 from the field, including four 3-pointers, as he dropped 20 points in the second half to pull CBU within six.
"I appreciate all the support from the students and fans," said senior Martel Williams. "They gave us energy when we scored, and they were cheering. We felt that energy. All the crowd, we really appreciate that. We couldn't have done it without you guys."
CBU, needing a stop, got the defensive play they needed, setting up a possession with one minute to go that would have pulled CBU within one score. But Kansas had one more stop of its own, ending the Lancers' historic run.
A 26-point comeback would have been the largest comeback in March Madness history.
Daniels Jr. scored 25 points in his final collegiate game. He did so in over 39 minutes of action and added seven rebounds and three assists.
"I had a dream a long time ago that I was going to be playing in March Madness," said Daniels Jr. "When I stepped on the court yesterday, and it said 'March Madness', it was like a dream come true for me. That just goes to show that anything is possible for anybody if you put God at the forefront of your life."
Williams ended his collegiate career with 15 points on 7-of-16 from the floor. He pulled down five rebounds.
The Lancers, the champions of the WAC Tournament, end the greatest season in their Division I era with 25 wins. CBU won more games than any DI team in program history, including a perfect 15-0 run inside the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center.
CBU's March Madness berth was the first in program history. The Lancers will transition to the Big West Conference next season.
A night we will never forget.#MarchMadness | #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/4R8T9vxR4f
— California Baptist Men's Basketball (@CBUmbb) March 21, 2026
Kansas, the 4-seed in the East Region, advances to the Second Round on Sunday, where they will meet 5-seed St. John's.
"I told the guys in the locker room, my tears are tears of gratitude," said head coach Rick Croy. "Tonight was just a true, incredible representation of what these guys are all about."
Croy added, "They said we were going to do it, and they did it. And that's taking CBU to March Madness. And it means everything to our university. These guys mean everything to me."
California Baptist entered the locker room in a hole, trailing by 20 points after KU's Darryn Peterson connected on a 3-pointer at the halftime horn. CBU had done a good job of silencing Peterson, holding him to a 2-for-9 shooting performance entering the 4:00 media, but Peterson responded with four baskets in the closing stretch to enter the break with 15 points.
Peterson ended the game with 28.
Kansas grew its lead to 26 early in the second half. With backs against the wall, the Lancers came out swinging, led by the fifth leading scorer in the nation, Daniels Jr.
Daniels Jr. put on a show that had a crowd of 11,441 fans, predominantly cheering for CBU, on its feet. The graduate guard connected on 6-for-13 from the field, including four 3-pointers, as he dropped 20 points in the second half to pull CBU within six.
"I appreciate all the support from the students and fans," said senior Martel Williams. "They gave us energy when we scored, and they were cheering. We felt that energy. All the crowd, we really appreciate that. We couldn't have done it without you guys."
CBU, needing a stop, got the defensive play they needed, setting up a possession with one minute to go that would have pulled CBU within one score. But Kansas had one more stop of its own, ending the Lancers' historic run.
A 26-point comeback would have been the largest comeback in March Madness history.
Daniels Jr. scored 25 points in his final collegiate game. He did so in over 39 minutes of action and added seven rebounds and three assists.
Dom Daniels with a big trey ball 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7m1JYHqQkH
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2026
"I had a dream a long time ago that I was going to be playing in March Madness," said Daniels Jr. "When I stepped on the court yesterday, and it said 'March Madness', it was like a dream come true for me. That just goes to show that anything is possible for anybody if you put God at the forefront of your life."
Williams ended his collegiate career with 15 points on 7-of-16 from the floor. He pulled down five rebounds.
The Lancers, the champions of the WAC Tournament, end the greatest season in their Division I era with 25 wins. CBU won more games than any DI team in program history, including a perfect 15-0 run inside the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center.
CBU's March Madness berth was the first in program history. The Lancers will transition to the Big West Conference next season.
Team Stats
CBU
KU
FG%
.359
.400
3FG%
.235
.211
FT%
.526
.857
RB
42
41
TO
8
8
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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