USAFA, Colo. – For the second-straight year, fifth-seeded California Baptist took down top-seeded Pacific to advance to the West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament title match. The Lancers defeated the Tigers, 15-12, to reach their third straight tournament final.
The Lancers’ scored first off a Andrea Nuzzo goal just 30 seconds into the match. A minute later, the Tigers tied the contest on a Manuel Pembertty goal and quickly followed it up with a Borisz Kasa-Gal score.
The teams traded goals as Pacific took a 3-2 lead. CBU’s balanced offense was in full force the rest of the half as six different Lancers scored to give CBU an 11-6 advantage at half. Eight of the scores came in the second period.
Three different Lancers scored three goals in the match, with Wyatt Bugbee, Alex Righetti and Andrea Nuzzo scoring nine of CBU’s 15 total goals.
Pacific started to turn the tides in the third period, scoring four of the quarter’s first five goals. CBU took advantage of a 6-on-5, as Luca Imbriolo rattled the cage with 20 seconds in the period to give the Lancers a 13-9 lead heading into the final period.
The Tigers continued to press, cutting their deficit to 14-12 with two minutes to go. Righetti countered with his third score for CBU to put the game out of reach as the Lancers earned their second trip to the West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament Championship in as many years.
Fifth-ranked Pacific saw West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year Apostolos Georgaras collect three goals on six shots in the match to lead the Tigers offensively.
The CBU victory sets up a rematch of the previous two year’s West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament title game. The Lancers defeated the Spartans, 13-8, in that contest. Tune in on
ESPN+ on Sunday to watch the exciting finish of the West Coast Conference Men’s Water Polo Tournament.