BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Despite playing without standout power forward Kevin Johnson, Humboldt State used an effective zone to stymie Cal State Bakersfield's offense for a 61-57 win at Rabobank Arena on Saturday.
Johnson, who is averaging a double-double this season at 17.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, was left out of the lineup Saturday night for a violation of team rules. But that didn't seem to be a problem for the Lumberjacks who made the Roadrunners battle for every point, mostly coming on outside shooting.
Bakersfield took 25 shots from behind the arc — the second-most three-point attempts for the Roadrunners this season — but made just five while being outrebounded in the game. On top of that, Bakersfield shot just 38.2 percent overall from the field.
Missing Johnson didn't seem to be a problem as three Lumberjacks scored in double figures. Grayson Moyer led all scorers with 18 points and pulled in six rebounds, while Jeremiah Ward added 15 points including 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range. Also for Humboldt, Cy Vandermeer scored 10 points while Devin Peal added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Bakersfield was led by Dwuan Rice with 11 points despite shooting just 3-of-12 from the field and 1-of-8 from behind the arc. Zack Grasmick added 10 points on 2-of-8 three-point shooting, while Rick Robinson also scored 10 points. Carl Damus scored seven points with seven rebounds.
The Roadrunners never trailed by more than seven points but they were seemingly never able to take a lead. Bakersfield led 2-0 to start the game and then momentarily held three one-point leads in the first half before Humboldt went into the locker room ahead 27-24.
The second half looked eerily the same as the first. Bakersfield trailing by only a handful of points, but settling for long-range shots that wouldn't fall while the Lumberjacks settled into their zone. The Roadrunners led 34-33 with 14:54 remaining in the game, and held that lead for just 24 seconds. Bakersfield never regained the lead despite cutting the Humboldt advantage to just one on four different occasions.
Bakersfield returns to the road next Friday when it travels to Cal Poly Pomona for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff in the second half of a women's/men's doubleheader.
HUMBOLDT STATE (12–3, 7–3 CCAA): Grayson Moyer 6-10 5-6 18; Devin Peal 2-9 5-8 9; Cy Vandermeer 3-6 4-5 10; Jeremiah Ward 5-12 2-4 15; Will Sheufelt 1-6 2-3 5; Antonio Flaggs 0-0 0-0 0; Tyler Burns 1-5 0-0 2; Carlos Corral 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 19-49 18-26 61.
CS BAKERSFIELD (7–9, 6–3 CCAA): Richard Andrews 2-9 1-2 5; Zack Grasmick 4-10 0-0 10; Carl Damus 3-7 1-1 7; Dwuan Rice 3-12 4-6 11; Randall Harding 2-3 0-0 4; Brandon Robinson 1-4 0-0 3; Trent Blakley 2-5 0-0 5; Demarcus Hall 1-2 0-0 2; Rick Robinson 3-3 4-6 10. TOTALS: 21-55 10-15 57.
HALFTIME: HSU 27-24. 3-PT. FG: HSU 5-8 (Ward 3-3, Sheufelt 1-1, Moyer 1-4); CSUB 5-25 (Grasmick 2-8, Blakley 1-3, Robinson 1-4, Rice 1-8, Andrews 0-2). REBOUNDS: HSU 36 (Peal 10); CSUB 34 (Damus 7). ASSISTS: HSU 10 (Ward 3); CSUB 11 (Rice 5). TURNOVERS: HSU 13, CSUB 14. BLOCKS: HSU 2 (Vandermeer 2); CSUB 6 (Damus 4). STEALS: HSU 7 (Ward, Sheufelt 3); CSUB 6 (Andrews 3). TECHNICALS: Peal. FOULED OUT: Grasmick, Damus. OFFICIALS: John Edwards, Mike Munson, Bob Williams. ATTN: 2,975.
