No. 2 seed cal baptist beat the top seed utah valley 63-61 Wolverines to last Western Athletic Conference tournament win isaac davis Missed a potential tie-up dunk with three seconds left.
Cal Baptist (25-8) will make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Lancers began the transition from Division II in 2018 and became eligible for the postseason in 2022–23. They have won six consecutive games to extend their program record (DI era) for single-season wins.
“This group of players was on full display tonight,” Cal Baptist coach Rick Croy said. “Their confidence in each other, representing CBU and doing it in a positive way means everything to them.”
Utah Valley (25-8), which has won back-to-back conference regular-season titles and four of the last six, had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
Dominic Daniels Jr.Joe finished with 23 points on 7-of-25 shooting, hitting back-to-back 3s to tie the game at 60 with 1:16 to play. of utah valley jackson holcombe Grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws with 39 seconds left, but Daniel hit a pull-up 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, giving Cal Baptist a two-point lead before Utah Valley’s ill-fated alley-oop attempt with 14.6 seconds remaining.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Utah Valley coach Todd Phillips said. “They battled all night and put themselves in position to win the game. It’s tough when it comes to a game like this, but our guys showed a lot of heart and determination.”
Daniels said: “Anything can happen in March, that’s what I kept telling myself going into those last three possessions.”
Holcombe led the Wolverines with 18 points and Davis scored 12 points. trayvon leonhart Daniels continued to be troubled defensively, finishing with six points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Brady Henige had 11 points for the Lancers, and jonathan griman Had 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting before he fouled out with about 5½ minutes remaining.
Utah Valley won the regular season series 2–1, with both wins coming on their home field. Daniels had a program-record 47 points in a 78–71 home win over Cal Baptist on January 24.
Both programs are joining the Big West Conference starting next season, when the WAC will be rebranded as the United Athletic Conference.
“We got a chance there late and we nailed it,” Phillips said. “Our guys bounced back from an early loss and competed all night long. It’s tough, but this group has a lot to be proud of this season.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
