RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Tarleton State Men's Basketball started out the contest with nearly a four-minute drought as California Baptist led wire-to-win securing the season series with an 82-67 victory on Saturday night at the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Events Center.

The Texans (14-16 overall, 5-12 WAC) were unable to stymie the Lancers (21-8, 11-5) in front of a full Homecoming crowd. The Purple and White wrap up their final road trip of the regular season and head home for the season finale on Thursday. The Lancers are still in the hunt for the WAC regular season title just a game behind Utah Valley and a half a game ahead of Utah Tech.

Dior Johnson led the team in scoring for the second-straight game since his return on Thursday. Johnson posted his 12th game with at least 20 points, tallying 24 shooting 7-for-17 from the floor. He was nearly perfect from the free throw line making 10 of his 11 attempts. He dished out three assists and grabbed four rebounds. He also added one steal in his 29 minutes of action off the bench.

All three Texans in double figures came off the bench. Chris Mpaka totaled 12 while Freddy Hicks added 11. Mpaka grabbed a team-best seven boards and notched a pair of blocks. Hicks grabbed six boards and shot four-for-six from the floor.

California Baptist started the game hot on a 9-0 run and never looked back. The Lancers held the Texans without a basket for the first 3:43. Johnson put the Texans on the board shortly after checking into the game with 16:17 to go in the half. CBU ballooned their lead to 18 with just under 12 minutes left in the half, 24-8.

The Texans used their largest run of the game to tighten the deficit back to seven. The Purple and White used a pair of 7-0 runs separated by a CBU triple to bring their deficit to single digits. Johnson made a pair of free throws followed by a Hicks triple and a DJ Dormu layup to rattle off seven points. In the second run, Johnson scored the first four punctuated by a triple from Ocypher Owens.

The Purple and White shortened the CBU lead to six twice in the final 10 minutes of the half, but CBU closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a double-digit lead into halftime, 40-29. Johnson led the Texans with 12 first half points.

The Texans brought their deficit back down to single digits on a 4-0 run after CBU scored the first two points of the half. But nine is the lowest the CBU lead ever got in the second half. The Lancers responded with a 6-0 run and kept a 10-point lead for the next several minutes. With CBU leading by 16 with 8:11 to go, the Texans ran off an 8-1 run to cut their deficit down to nine, 68-59 with 6:25 to go.

The two squads traded baskets over the next possessions, but the Texans final nine-point deficit came with 4:18 left in the game. CBU took control in the final minutes and led by as many as 17. Jordan Mizell laid in a lay-up in the final ticks to give the Lancers their 11th victory of the season, 82-67.

Tarleton State won the battle of the boards for the second-straight game, 38-33. Also for the second-consecutive contest, the Texans forced less than 10 turnovers and lost the turnover battle, 17-9. For the first time since Jan. 15 against Southern Utah, the Texans scored 50+ bench points totaling 53. The Purple and White shot 40.4 percent from the floor and 78.3 percent from the charity stripe. CBU shot 42.4 percent from the floor including 34.8 percent from deep.

The Texans will return to Stephenville for their regular season finale against UT Arlington on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. with the five Texan seniors to be honored before the game in the EECU Center.