RIVERSIDE, California –Tarleton State Men’s Basketball was unable to overcome a slow start and suffered a 68-48 loss on Thursday night against California Baptist at the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center.
The Texans (12-17 overall, 7-8 WAC) are now in a three-way tie for fourth place in the WAC. The Lancers (15-14, 8-7) are now alone for the third seed in next week’s tournament. Tarleton is tied with Abilene Christian and Seattle U and a single game ahead of the UT Arlington.
Keitenn Bristow notched his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. He added two assists and two steals as well. Bristow became the third Texan to notch a double-double this season.
Dantwan Grimes led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season with 11. Chris Mpaka nearly notched his fourth double-double of the season, just one point shy. Mpaka tied his career-high with 12 bounds and he added nine points. The junior also added three blocks. On his birthday, Bubu Benjamin notched 10 points, his 22nd game in double figures this season.
“We just didn’t play well enough to win tonight,” said head coach Billy Gillispie. “We have to regroup quickly and go through two time zones to get ready to play a really important game on Saturday.”
California Baptist scored the first bucket of the game a three-pointer and never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the contest. Tarleton State kept pace with the Lancers early on, with a layup from Bristow and a triple by Benjamin to keep themselves within one, 6-5 in the first two minutes. Across the next 6:17, CBU used an 18-2 run to distance themselves with a 24-7 advantage with 11:36 remaining.
The Texans turned it on in the second part of the first half. A free throw from Grimes and a jumper from Izzy Miles, stopped the Lancer run. After CBU hit another of their seven first half threes, Benjamin matched with his second from deep on the night. Trailing 30-16, the Texans burst out on a 10-0 run across the next 3:16 to cut their deficit down to one. Grimes accounted for four of the ten and Karim Elgizawy drained his first triple of the night. A layup from Mpaka and a made second end of the free throw from Mizell accounted for the other three.
In the final two minutes, the Lancers responded with a 6-2 run. Grimes scored his team-leading ninth point of the half on a fast-break layup in the final 30 seconds. After CBU stepped out of bounds with 1.9 seconds on the clock, the Texans got the ball for a final shot. Benjamin took a three-pointer from the corner, but it nicked off the rim.
CBU made 10 shots from the floor in the first half with seven coming from downtown at a 43.8 percent rate. The top-ranked forced turnover team in the nation, the Texans forced just five turnovers by the Lancers in the first half. Normally a great free throw shooting team, the Texans shot just 3-for-11 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes.
The Lancers came out in the start of the second half making a pair of triples in the first two minutes. Bristow made a layup to stop the run briefly, before the Lancers sunk their third shot of the second 20 minutes, their 10th made three of the night. After Benjamin scored his eighth point of the game, CBU lengthened their lead to 17, the largest to that point, 49-32 with 14:02 to go.
Mpaka scored the next four points, with Benjamin adding a bucket for a 6-0 run. The Texans cut their deficit to 11 with 12:43 to go. After another CBU triple, Mpaka scored his sixth point in two minutes and his ninth on the night. But the Lancers scored the next five to go back up by 17.
In the final ten minutes, CBU controlled the game and set up their eighth conference victory of the season. Bristow made his first triple if the game with 6:31 to go, but it was not enough to spark the Texan offense. The Lancers expanded their lead to 20 with 2:29 remaining. Bristow scored with 23.6 ticks to go, but CBU brought their lead back to 20 with a dunk in the final three seconds to ultimately take a 68-48 victory.
California Baptist finished the night shooting 13-for-28 from downtown, a 46.4 percent rate. The Lancers made just nine two-point baskets and shot 11-for-16 from the charity stripe. The Texans shot 20-for-51 from the floor and 4-for-14 from deep. The Texans also shot their worst from the free throw line this year, making just four in 14 attempts.
The Texans won the battle of the boards 37-28 and held a 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass. The Lancers won the battle of the turnovers, 17-12.
Tarleton State will close out the regular season against the WAC-leading Utah Valley Wolverines who have just one loss in conference play. The Texans will host the Wolverines on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the final men’s basketball game in Wisdom Gym. Fans are encouraged to come out and celebrate Wisdom Gym’s final basketball game and will receive a commemorative wooden ticket.
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