Cal Baptist wins D-I debut, beats San Diego Christian 87-71
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Milan Acquaah scored 22 points and led four players into double-figure scoring as Cal Baptist rolled past NAIA member San Diego Christian 87-71 in the Lancers' debut as a Division I basketball program Friday night.
Cal Baptist began the transfer to Division I and membership in the Western Athletic Conference after the 2017-18 season. The Lancers will be eligible for the postseason in the 2022-23 season. Last year, its final year in Division II, the Lancers won the West Regional and advanced to the Elite Eight.
The opener was the 45th meeting between the teams, facing each other previously when the Lancers were NAIA members and later as members of the Golden State Athletic Conference. Cal Baptist leads the series 28-17.
Cal Baptist took a 44-31 lead at intermission and cruised to the win. Jeremy Smith had 17 points and Jordan Heading and Ty Rowell added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Derek Novsek scored 31 points to lead San Diego Christian.
