MALIBU, CALIF. ? The CSUB men's basketball team spent more than 25 minutes trying to find a way past a young, pesky Pepperdine team. Trailing by 16 points in the second half, senior forward Donald Lee (L.A. Pierce College) and freshman guard Bryan Emanuel (Bellflower/Mayfair HS) stepped up to lead the way in CSUB's 79-72 overtime win.
Lee scored all of his team-high 15 points and grabbed 11 of his game-high 13 rebounds after halftime. It was reminiscent of his performance against NCAA Tournament-bound Cal State Fullerton last season, when he posted a 20-point, 15-rebound second half against the Titans.
Emanuel, meanwhile, scored all of his career-high 14 points after halftime. He hit two big threes in the second half to help the Roadrunners overcome their big deficit and two more in overtime to help complete the comeback.
The ?Runners shot just 29 percent in the first half. They stayed close early despite their struggles, but Pepperdine closed the half on a 15-5 run to take a 36-26 lead into the locker room.
Things didn't get any better for CSUB to start the second half, as a 1-for-8 start opened the door for the Waves to expand their lead to 48-32 with 15:21 remaining.
That's when Lee caught fire. He scored seven of the first nine points in a 23-4 CSUB run that put the ?Runners ahead 55-52. The Waves never led again, although they caught CSUB twice, the last time on a pair of Denis Agre freethrows with 2:07 remaining which ultimately forced overtime.
Overtime was Emanuel's turn to steal the spotlight. Offensively, he nailed a pair of big three-pointers. The first broke a 65-65 lead and gave CSUB the lead for good. The second put the ?Runners up by six at 73-67, and Pepperdine never got within one possession of the lead again.
But Emanuel's biggest contributions came on the other end of the floor. With CSUB playing exclusively man in the extra period, he shut out Pepperdine leading scorer Keion Bell, who scored a game-high 23 points in regulation.
CSUB will continue its run through the West Coast Conference when it host 2008 NCAA Tournament participant the University of the San Diego Monday at Rabobank Arena. San Diego returns all five of its starters from a 2008 squad that had huge wins last season over Kentucky as well as nationally-ranked Saint Mary's and Gonzaga. The Toreros also knocked off UConn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
They'll be looking for revenge Monday, however, remembering CSUB's 80-72 win last season in San Diego.
CSU Bakersfield 79, Pepperdine University 72 (ot)
CSU BAKERSFIELD (3?2): Blakley 5-15 4-4 15; C. Brown 0-0 0-0 0; Bragg 2-6 5-6 10; Emanuel 5-10 0-0 14; Carlson 4-12 0-0 9; Johnson 0-4 0-2 0; Johns 1-6 7-8 9; Lara 0-0 0-0 0; Latunde 2-9 3-6 7; Lee 5-10 5-7 15. TOTALS: 24-72 24-33 79.
PEPPERDINE (1?5): Thompson 4-9 0-0 9; Darby 1-4 1-2 3; Moore 3-3 2-4 8; Bell 9-21 2-3 23; Jackson 5-10 5-6 17; Suttle 0-3 0-0 0; Tucker 1-6 0-0 2; Dupre 3-8 0-0 6; Hornbuckle 0-3 0-0 0; Agre 1-2 2-2 4. TOTALS: 27-69 12-19 72.
HALFTIME: PU 36-26. 3-PT. FG: CSUB 7-27 (Emanuel 4-6, Bragg 1-2, Blakley 1-6, Carlson 1-7, Johnson 0-3, Johns 0-3); PU 6-17 (Bell 3-8, Jackson 2-3, Thompson 1-1, Suttle 0-2, Tucker 0-3). REBOUNDS: CSUB 47 (Lee 13); PU 46 (Bell 8). ASSISTS: CSUB 14 (Emanuel, Johnson 3); PU 10 (Tucker 3). TURNOVERS: CSUB 14, PU 22. BLOCKS: CSUB 3 (Emanuel, Johns, Lee); PU 12 (Agre 3). STEALS: CSUB 11 (Emanuel, Lee 3); PU 4 (Darby, Jackson 2). TECHNICALS: None. FOULED OUT: Darby. OFFICIALS: Ditty, Bannowsky, Pierce. ATTN: 916.
