PORTLAND, Ore. ? The CSUB men's basketball team made one big rally, but couldn't finish a second, as the University of Portland pulled away late for a 73?63 win Friday night at the Chiles Center in Portland.
CSUB (7?14 overall) used a 15?2 run in the first half to turn an eight?point deficit into a 29?24 lead. Trailing 59?45 midway through the second half, the Roadrunners embarked on a 13?3 run that got them to within 62?58 with 3:39 to play before Portland managed to ease away for the win.
Senior forward Demarcus Hall registered game?highs of 20 points and nine rebounds to lead CSUB while Trent Blakley chipped in 11 points and six boards. The forward tandem combined to shoot 10-of-15 from the field in the first half as the efficient Roadrunner offense made an effort to pound the ball inside.
When the second half began, however, the Roadrunners went away from their effective inside game as the guards settled for quick shots, mostly from the perimeter. While freshman point guard Alex Johnson, poured in 11 second?half points on 4-of-6 shooting, the rest of the CSUB backcourt went 3-of-18 from the field in the second half.
Portland took full advantage of the ensuing CSUB dry spell, building its lead to 11 points early in the half and forcing the Roadrunners to play catch up for the duration.
Kramer Knutson and Taishi Ito led a balanced Portland offense with 11 points apiece. Robin Smeulders added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Pilots, who improved to 7?13 with the win.
CSUB continues its five?game road trip Tuesday when it plays at San Jose State.
Univ. of Portland 73, CSU Bakersfield 63
CSU BAKERSFIELD (7?14): Hall 7-10 6-8 20; Johnson 4-6 1-2 11; Blakley 5-12 1-2 11; Grasmick 3-8 0-0 9; Bragg 1-8 3-4 5; Johns 1-8 1-2 3; Lee 1-2 0-0 2; R. Brown 1-3 0-0 2; Brown 0-1 0-0 0; Rose 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 12-18 63.
PORTLAND (7?13): Knutson 5-8 1-1 11; Ito 2-7 6-6 11; Smeulders 5-6 0-0 10; Stohl 3-6 0-1 9; Sikma 3-5 1-2 8; Raivio 3-8 0-0 6; Niedermeyer 2-3 0-0 6; Watson 1-3 4-6 6; Thompson 1-4 0-0 3; Hannibal 1-1 1-2 3; Carter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 13-18 73.
Halftime--UP 32-31. 3-point goals--CSUB 5-17 (Grasmick 3-7; Johnson 2-3; Bragg 0-1; Johns 0-3; Rose 0-1; Blakley 0-2), Up 8-21 (Stohl 3-5; Niedermeyer 2-2; Ito 1-6; Thompson 1-3; Sikma 1-1; Raivio 0-4). Fouled out--CSUB-Johns, Up-None. Rebounds--CSUB 34 (Hall 9), Up 36 (Smeulders). Assists--CSUB 11 (Bragg 7), Up 20 (Ito 7). Total fouls--CSUB 20, Up 13. Technical fouls--CSUB-None, Up-None. A-1,428.
