March 21, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - California Baptist University closed out first-round play at the 2008 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship with a 77-69 win against Xavier University (La.) Thursday at Municipal Auditorium.

Mark Roussin and Dave Cernin each posted a double-double to help lead the No. 10-seeded Lancers to the win. Roussin scored a team-high 18 points with 10 rebounds, while Cernin had 14 points along with 10 rebounds. Matt Gonzales chipped in with 17 points and Carl Ross notched 16 points to lead the offensive surge for California Baptist. Cernin also dished out six assists for the Lancers while Ross was right behind with five. The Lancers pushed their overall record to 24-8.

With the win, California Baptist moves into Friday's second round for a contest against defending NAIA Division I national champion and No. 7 seed Oklahoma City University.  Tip-off is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. CST.

California Baptist never trailed in the contest, although Xavier pulled even on two different occasions in the first half. Cesar Menjivar hit a three-pointer with just over a minute left in the first half to put the Lancers in front 32-29. That sparked a 7-1 California Baptist run that extended their lead to 36-30 at the break. Ross provided the final three points of the half when he drained a 40-foot shot from just in front of the scorer's table.

Xavier pulled to within a point early in the second half before California Baptist started to take command. The Lancers' largest lead of the night came at 66-54 when Daniel Hestehauge sank two free throws at the 3:42 mark. The Gold Rush made one final run, coming within 69-65, but the Lancers sealed the win by making eight free throws in the last 55 seconds.

Shaun Dumas poured in a game-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the way for Xavier. Devin Andrew posted 10 points for the Gold Rush, which closes its year with an overall record of 24-10.