STOCKTON, Calif. ? For a split second, it appeared as if the CSUB men's basketball team had secured a hard-fought win at Big West Conference power the University of the Pacific. But a controversial traveling call gave the Tigers new life, and they took advantage to force overtime and eventually pull out a 67-63 overtime win at the Spanos Center in Stockton.
Senior guard Terrence Johns (Chicago/Bakersfield College) led a balanced CSUB effort with 12 points. Donald Lee and Bryan Emanuel added 10 points apiece.
“University of the Pacific is one of the top tier programs in the Big West,” said CSUB Head Coach Keith Brown. “We endeavor to knock off the top teams in the conference one by one, but we didn't get that done tonight.
“We had opportunities, but had some unforced turnovers in both the first and second halves. In a game like this, every possession is critical and that was a big difference.”
With CSUB leading by 56-54 and 26 seconds remaining, Pacific's Anthony Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. Johns, CSUB's best freethrow shooter, grabbed the rebound but was immediately called for traveling as he secured the ball. The television replay did not appear to support the call.
With new life, James Doran nailed a pair of freethrows to tie the game 10 seconds later. Johns had a good look at a three-pointer to win the game at the buzzer, but it rimmed out.
Pacific took an early lead in overtime before Emanuel nailed a big three to put the Roadrunners up 60-58. The Tigers eventually crawled ahead 62-60. CSUB had chance to tie, but Santwon Latunde's (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC) layup circled the rim and came back out with 1:25 remaining.
Down 66-63, the ?Runners had one more chance to tie the game, but Alex Johnson lost control of the ball dribbling upcourt with 20 seconds to play and Pacific made one freethrow to seal the victory.
CSUB (3-4 overall) will complete its tour of the northern portion of the Big West when it plays at UC Davis Saturday at 7 p.m.
Pacific improved to 3-2 with the win.
Univ. of the Pacific 67, CSU Bakersfield 63
CSU BAKERSFIELD (3?4): Blakley 2-9 3-4 8; Lee 5-7 1-2 11; Bragg 1-5 4-5 6; Emanuel 3-6 3-4 11; Carlson 2-3 0-0 6; Johnson 1-7 0-0 3; Johns 4-12 3-5 12; R. Brown 0-0 0-0 0; Latunde 1-4 0-0 2; C. Brown 1-1 2-2 4. TOTALS: 20-54 16-22 63.
PACIFIC (3?2): Brown 2-3 2-4 6; Willard 3-5 3-4 9; Ford 5-5 2-2 12; Smith 2-11 2-2 7; Doran 5-13 3-5 16; Neufville 3-10 2-2 9; Neimeyer 0-1 0-0 0; LeDuc 4-11 0-0 8. TOTALS: 24-59 14-19 67.
HALFTIME: Tied 28-28. 3-PT. FG: CSUB 7-20 (Carlson 2-2, Emanuel 2-3, Blakley 1-4, Johnson 1-4, Johns 1-5); UOP 5-20 (Doran 3-10, Smith 1-3, Neufville 1-3, LeDuc 0-4). REBOUNDS: CSUB 32 (Blakley 8); UOP 40 (Willard 9). ASSISTS: CSUB 10 (Johnson 3); UOP 13 (Smith 6). TURNOVERS: CSUB 14, UOP 15. BLOCKS: CSUB 3 (Bragg, Emanuel, Lee); UOP 3 (Brown, Ford, Willard). STEALS: CSUB 8 (Emanuel 3); UOP 3 (Ford 2). TECHNICALS: None. FOULED OUT: Lee. OFFICIALS: Scyphers, Padilla, Mallory. ATTN: 2,495.
