RIVERSIDE, Calif – In a pair of games between the country's sixth and seventh ranked men's water polo teams, LMU (3-3, 1-1 WWPA) and California Baptist (2-2, 0-1 WWPA) each earned one win apiece on Saturday. The game was LMU's first road contest of the year and CBU's first time at home this spring.
 
GAME 1: CBU 14, LMU 6
 
CBU jumped ahead in their own pool with two goals less than two minutes into the game. The Lions cut the deficit in half with a goal from freshman Aden Mina, at the 3:23 mark of the first. The Lancers added a late goal with four seconds remaining in the opening period to take a 3-1 advantage.
 
The home team added two more goals to extend their lead to 5-1 before fellow freshman Tyler Harvey scored LMU's only other goal of the half with 2:42 remaining in the period. CBU carried a 6-2 advantage at intermission.
 
LMU only mustered up one goal in the third quarter as well, with Jack Baumgardner scoring, but allowed the Lancers to add five more to enter the fourth quarter trailing 11-3.
 
The Lions equaled as many goals in the final quarter, with three, as they had scored in the opening, 24 minutes. Joseph Cavazos, Jack Dunbar, and Augie Renezedar all scored in the final period, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
 
GAME 2: LMU 15, CBU 10
 
LMU reversed its fortunes in the second game, taking their own 3-1 lead in the first quarter of the afternoon contest. Jack Baumgardner opened the game with a goal with 6:18 on the clock, before Daniel Roth added a pair to push the Lions ahead, 3-0. CBU scored in the final minute of the opening quarter.
 
The Lions scored six of the first seven goals of the second quarter to build up a 9-2 lead, before eventually taking a 9-3 advantage into halftime. Joseph Cavazos scored two goals to open the period before the Lancers responded with one of their own. Four different Lions then scored over the next three and a half minutes with Daniel Roth, Jonny Rimlinger, Aden Mina, and Joseph Shaw all putting the ball in the back of the cage. CBU scored in the last 10 seconds before the half.
 
With three goals to open the third quarter, the Lancers cut it to a 9-6 game. With the game within three, LMU closed out the period with four unanswered goals as Joseph Cavazos and Augie Renezeder each scored one, and Jonny Rimlinger scored back-to-back to close out the third.
 
LMU was outscored 4-2 in the final quarter, but the fourth goals of the game by both Joseph Cavazos and Daniel Roth kept LMU ahead and allowed the Lions to pull out the win.
 
Next Up:
 
The Lions return to Burns Aquatic Center in a week for two games on Saturday. The Lions will open the Feb. 13 doubleheader with a 10:30 a.m. nonconference game against Pepperdine, before playing Fresno Pacific in the afternoon for a WWPA counting game against the Sunbirds at 2:00 p.m.