SACRAMENTO ? There may be no place like home, but if the CSUB men's basketball team had its choice at this point, it might prefer to stay on the road. The Roadrunners continued their winning ways by picking up their third consecutive road victory, 73?61, over Sacramento State Tuesday night in the Hornet's Nest.

Bakersfield welcomed the return of one starter?freshman guard Alex Johnson, who played a reserve roll Tuesday?while starting center Cory Brown missed his first collegiate start nursing a tender ankle. One again, it hardly mattered as a balanced effort overcame a slow start and led Bakersfield's to second double?digit win in the last three games.

Senior forward Demarcus Hall led the way with his second double?double of the season, scoring 14 points with a game?high 10 rebounds. But freshman guard Donovan Bragg, starting at the point in place of Johnson, and sophomore forward Trent Blakley matched Hall's scoring total while senior guard Zack Grasmick chipped in 12 points on the strength of four three pointers.

Sac State (3-13) actually took apart the 'Runner defense early, jumping out to an eight?point lead at 21?13 in the first eight minutes.
But the CSUB defense clamped down and helped spark a 10?2 run that tied the game at 23?23. A Loren Leath three temporarily gave the Hornets the lead before Donald Lee came off the bench with a layup and a dunk to help the 'Runners retake the lead for good.

The 'Runners led by four at the half and then opened the second half on a 7?0 run that gave them their first double?digit lead at 41?30. The advantage grew to as many as 15 points at 69?54 before settling on the 13?point final margin.

Bakersfield returns home for one game, hosting fellow NCAA Division I independent Utah Valley University Saturday with a rare 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The 'Runners then return to the road for five games starting Jan. 23 at Long Beach State.

CSU BAKERSFIELD (6?12): Hall 6-8 2-7 14; Robinson 0-1 0-0 0; Bragg 5-7 4-5 14; Johns 2-9 2-2 7; Grasmick 4-9 0-0 12; Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Blakley 6-11 1-1 14; Rose 0-0 3-4 3; R. Brown 2-4 0-0 5; Lee 2-4 0-0 4. TOTALS: 27-53 12-19 73.

SACRAMENTO STATE (3?13): Ferguson 0-2 0-0 0; Eller 3-9 1-2 7; McGhee 6-10 3-4 17; Woods 3-10 0-0 7; Leath 8-19 0-0 20; Thomas 1-4 0-0 2; Young 0-1 0-0 0; Aboubaker 1-1 0-0 2; Williams 3-6 0-0 6. TOTALS: 25-62 4-6 61.

Halftime: CSUB 34-30. 3-point goals--CSUB 7-21 (Grasmick 4-9, Blakley 1-2, R. Brown 1-3, Johns 1-6, Bragg 0-1); SAC 7-28 (Leath 4-13, McGhee 2-5, Woods 1-7, Ferguson 0-1, Thomas 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--CSUB 38 (Hall 10); SAC 31 (Eller 8). Assists--CSUB 17 (Bragg 6); SAC 12 (McGhee 6). Total fouls--CSUB 14, SAC 20. Technical fouls--None. A-508.