MBB: Lancers Picked Atop Preseason Poll

They won their first year under head coach Rick Croy and came up short last year, but the California Baptist University Lancers have their mind set on another PacWest Conference championship this year and they aren't the only ones to think they'll get back to the top this year. CBU was picked as the favorite to win the conference in a near unanimous decision, picking up 13 of 14 possible first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll. The Lancers were also picked as the preseason favorite last season, finishing in third place and receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA West Regional. CBU reached the regional final for the first time in school history, ending the year with a 26-7 overall record and top-25 ranking. Gelaun Wheelwright returns to the Lancers' starting lineup and was named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year. He is the top returning scorer in the conference. The senior guard, who was named a DII Bulletin Preseason All-American earlier this month, finished last year averaging 17.6 points per game and was on a six-game streak grabbing double figures, scoring 20 or more points. He ranked 10th in all of Division II with 3.30 triples per game. Wheelwright and his four fellow seniors (Michael Robinson, Jordan Giusti, Trevone Williams, Taj Spencer) — along with three other returners — will look to show six newcomers the ropes as the Lancers tip off the new season at the CCA Tipoff Classic next week in Anaheim, Calif., at the Anaheim Convention Center. CBU first faces off against Minnesota State-Moorhead on Friday, Oct. 30 at 6:15 p.m. The three-day tournament concludes with a matchup against Upper Iowa on Nov. 1 at 8:30 p.m. in Carson, Calif., at the Torodome on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills. CBU opens at home on Nov. 13 against the Toros at 7 p.m., hoping to build on its 30-1 record it has established in the Van Dyne Gym under Coach Croy.