Box Score

Riverside, CA -- Cal Baptist proved during the fall season that they can compete in the PacWest, taking first place in men's and women's soccer and third place in volleyball. On Saturday night it was the Urban Knights men's basketball team who saw firsthand the the Lancers are a handful in the winter season as well, as Czar Robotham's second straight game with over 20 points wasn't enough to overcome host Cal Baptist in both teams' conference opener. CBU prevailed 73-59.

Last week the Urban Knights (1-9, 0-1 PWC) were able to rely on their three scorers to make plays, but on Saturday, Robotham was alone in his production as William Overton, Jr. and Ameer Shamsud-din were both smothered by the Cal Baptist defense, going a combined 5-for-24 from the field and only totaling 13 points between the two of them.

"We have the privilege of watching Czar grow right in front of us," said head coach Mark Sembrowich. "He's a good player, and he's improving, and these are the results. We look forward to his continued improvement and I think he still has room to grow. It's a good place to start, and we're excited."

Robotham dropped 23 points on a 9-for-14 effort, and the Urban Knights as a team again strayed away from the three-happy play that got them in hot water earlier on this year, shooting only nine from deep. That resulted in another solid night shooting, putting up a 38.7% mark from the field. Hunter Hayden added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, and also chipped in eight rebounds.

"Hunter gave us a huge boost in the first half," Sembrowich said. "He got into foul trouble, but we know and he knows that whether it be off the bench or in the starting lineup, he's going to contribute. He's just got to keep at it as we head into conference play."

The Knights, who went into the locker room at halftime only down by four, and at one point in the second half cut the Lancers' lead to 53-51, came down that deadly combination of going cold and turning it over that gave CBU the push to build a big lead. After Academy of Art cut it to two, the Lancers went on a 10-2 run and never really let the Knights back in the game.

Against a team like Cal Baptist, shots from the line didn't play as big a part as they have against other teams. The Lancers came into Saturday shooting only 53.8% from the charity stripe, which really kept the Urban Knights in the game. Although ART U sent CBU to the line 31 times, they only made 16 of those shots (51.6%). Unfortunately, the Knights were unable to capitalize from the line, as they also shot around 50%, making only 10 of 19 free throws.

What the fouls did do was put some of the Knights more productive assets in foul trouble. Hayden was having a solid game, putting up his points and rebounds early, but only totaled four minutes in the second half due to some quick fouls. Noah Koné-Nelson fouled out down the stretch, and Shamsud-din, Overton, and Aaron Anderson also had three fouls apiece.

"We have to eliminate mistakes if we're going to win," said Sembrowich. "Our team has shown the ability to battle back and stay in games, but in order to win, we have to stop hurting ourselves."

The Knights and Lancers each had 20 turnovers, but it seemed that the Urban Knights had theirs come whenever they most needed to answer a Cal Baptist run. The Lancers had three players in double-digits as Justus Von Wright notched a season-high 22 points and Ivan Patterson (13) and Luke Evans (12) also broke the ten-point barrier.

"We're going to work to get right back and play these guys again," Sembrowich said. "We have a couple weeks, and we'll make the adjustments, and we'll be ready for them in January."

Academy of Art will play The Master's College in their final non-conference matchup on Saturday, December 30th, and will take on the Lancers again at home on January 5th. Both games will be played at Kezar Pavilion.