Tre Armstrong Shines Off the Bench as CBU Advances

California Baptist guard Tre Armstrong has a knack for going off for the Lancers.

Especially when he comes off the bench.

That is exactly what the senior from Tasmania did on Tuesday afternoon.

Armstrong had a game-high 23 points to help the Lancers advance to second round of the WAC Tournament with a 69-62 win over ACU at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Part of Armstrong’s day was a pair of 4-point plays.

With 10:38 left in the first half, Armstrong hit his second 3-pointer and drew a foul. Armstrong hit the free throw to complete the 4-point play and give the Lancers a 14-10 lead.

Following Damien Daniels driving layup to cut the deficit to three with 4:14 left in the half, Armstrong did it again.

Armstrong knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the half. And drew a foul on Hunter Jack Madden. The free throw was good and the lead was back seven.

Armstrong’s layup two minutes later pushed the lead to nine.

However, ACU ended the half on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to six at the break.

One problem that stuck out like a sore thumb for ACU throughout the ball game was 3-point shooting.

The Wildcats were just 1-7 from the perimeter in the first half.

Hunter Jack Madden’s free throws with 16:50 to play cut the deficit to seven.

However, the Lancers responded with a 7-0 run capped off by a pair of Blondeau Tchoukuiegno buckets to push the lead back to 14 with 13:25 to play.

It was the largest lead of the game for the Lancers.

The teams traded buckets over the next four minutes.

However, Riley Battin’s layup with 9:32 to play gave CBU its double digit lead right back.

Offensive fouls were in abundance over the final 9:32 on Monday.

In fact, it was a Blondeau Tchoukuiegno offensive foul that led to ACU cutting the deficit to six with 5:57 to play.

Hunter Jack Madden’s layup made it 55-49 and gave ACU life.

Unfortunately, that man, Tre Armstrong had a response.

Armstrong knocked down a 3-pointer from the right win to push the lead back to nine.

Manny Allen scored on a layup on the other end in response.

However, Armstrong’s brother, Taran, knocked down a 3-pointer to push CBU’s lead back to 10.

ACU got as close as four on a Manny Allen layup. But Tre Armstrong finished off the big day with a trio of free throws to seal the win.

Tre Armstrong was 5-6 from 3-point land. Riley Battin was also in double figures with 12 points. Tchoukuiegno finished with 10 points and seven assists for the Lancers.

CBU advances to play top-seed Sam Houston on Thursday at the Orleans Arena.

Damien Daniels led ACU with 16 points. It was the 160th game of Daniels’ career in an ACU uniform. Hunter Jack Madden was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 11. ACU finished the night, 2-20, from 3-point land. The Wildcats finish the 2022-23 season at 13-17 overall.