Men's Basketball

Heading Scores 20 As California Baptist Advances To Final

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – California Baptist improved to 19-1 at home on the year with a 67-57 win over No. 3 Azusa Pacific on Friday to advance to the PacWest Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship game for the third time in four years.

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The win boosted No. 2 California Baptist’s record to 25-4 on the season, while Azusa Pacific dropped to 20-10. The Lancers will go on to play the winner of No. 5 Concordia and No. 1 Dixie State on Saturday.
 
The Lancers were led offensively by Jordan Heading, who finished with 20 points and five assists, making 8 of 14 shots from the field and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc to lead CBU to an 11th-consecutive victory.
 
Azusa Pacific cut the Lancers lead down to four in the second half, but California Baptist answered with a 17-5 run that started with two Cory Lange 3-pointers. Heading knocked down another trey to complete the run and give CBU a 15-point lead, which was the highest of the game.
 
Freshman Ty Rowell made a 3-pointer with just under 16 minutes left in the game to give California Baptist a 34-32 lead. The Cougars never regained the lead for the rest of the game as the Lancers stretched that into an 11-0 run. Rowell hit another triple and so did Matt Hubbard. Heading finished the run with a lay-up.
 
Between the two runs, California Baptist had a 30-14 scoring advantage within a span of 13 minutes after being held to just 25 points in the first half. The Lancers made just one shot from beyond the arc in the first half, but drained 8 of 16 in the second half.
 
Kalidou Diouf had a 10-point 11-rebound double-double for CBU, while Hubbard finished with eight points on just three field-goal attempts. Azusa Pacific’s offense was led by Darien McClain with 13 points and three assists. Corey Langerveld added eight points and 10 rebounds, while Petar Kutlesic tallied nine points and eight rebounds.
 
The Lancers will play either Concordia or Dixie State after splitting against both teams during the regular season with a win at home and a loss on the road. California Baptist is looking for its second PacWest Championship in the last three years.