BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? The CSUB men's basketball team gave one of its best efforts of the season Saturday night, but 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifier Boise State had just a little too much moxie for the young Roadrunners, holding on for A 66-62 win at Rabobank Arena.
Junior forward Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) ended a minor slump by posting his first double-double of the season. He finished with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The CSUB starting backcourt of Terrence Johns (Chicago/Bakersfield College) and Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) chipped in 14 and 13 points respectively.
Sophomore forward Paul Noonan made 5-of-7 from beyond the arc as part of his game-high 19 points to lead Boise State. Ike Okoye added 14 points for the Broncos.
The teams played through 11 ties and 13 lead changes. Boise (7-3 overall) claimed the last lead change when Okoye's short jumper gave the Broncos the lead for good at 58-57 with 3:22 remaining.
CSUB (3-9) had one last chance to tie the game late, but Johns missed a good look at a three-pointer with 1:00 left and the Roadrunners trailing 63-60. La'Shard Anderson nailed a freethrow line jumper on Boise's next possession to effectively seal the win.
The first half played even closer than the second. Boise never led by more than two points. CSUB led by as many as six, but missed two chances to expand its lead to more before finally settling on a 29-27 edge at halftime.
CSUB continues its four-game homestand Tuesday when Big West Conference foe Cal Poly visits Rabobank Arena for a 7 p.m. tip. Boise State concludes it's two-game California swing Monday at the University of San Diego.
Boise State 66, CSU Bakersfield 62
BOISE STATE (7?3): Noonan 6-8 2-5 19; Sanchez 3-6 4-4 10; Okoye 6-9 2-5 14; Greene 2-5 0-0 5; Thomas 2-8 0-0 4; Garner 1-8 0-0 3; Imadiyi 1-2 0-1 2; Andserson 1-4 1-2 3; Moritz 0-0 0-0 0; Cunningham 2-2 2-2 6. TOTALS: 24-52 11-19 66.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (3?9): Blakley 5-11 1-2 11; Emanuel 0-1 0-0 0; C. Brown 1-2 0-0 2; Johnson 3-8 5-6 13; Johns 5-9 3-4 14; Bragg 2-8 5-7 9; Carlson 0-2 0-0 0; Lara 0-0 0-0 0; Latunde 1-3 5-6 7; Lee 3-5 0-1 6. TOTALS: 20-49 19-26 62.
Halftime: CSUB 29-27. 3-point goals--BSU 7-25 (Noonan 5-7, Greene 1-3, Garner 1-8, Anderson 0-3, Thomas 0-4); CSUB 3-18 (Johnson 2-5, Johns 1-4, Emnauel 0-1, Carlson 0-1, Blakley 0-3, Bragg 0-4). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--BSU 35 (Sanchez, Greene 6); CSUB 30 (Blakley 10). Assists--BSU 18 (Thomas 7); CSUB 11 (Johnson 4). Total fouls--BSU 20, CSUB 15. Technical fouls--none. A-1,649.
