BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? The CSUB men's basketball team rallied from a late 10-point deficit only to see the University of Portland come back to tie the game in the closing seconds of regulation en route to a 79-79 overtime victory Tuesday night at Rabobank Arena.
Sophomore guard Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) made 7-of-9 from beyond the arc as part of his career-high 23-point effort. But Portland's Nik Raivio answered with a career-high 33 points of his own to help the Pilots improve to 8-6 on the season.
Junior forward Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC) scored 12 of his 15 points after halftime as CSUB (4-10 overall) battled back from 47-37 down midway through the second half to take a 61-58 lead with 1:17 remaining. But Jared Stohl hit the fourth of his five three-pointers with 44 seconds remaining to force overtime.
After jockeying for position early in the extra period, four consecutive freethrows by Raivio and Stohl gave the Pilots a 76-72 lead with 25 seconds left and the Roadrunners couldn't catch up again.
Neither team was able to take control in the first half. CSUB opened a late-five point lead and took a 31-30 edge into the lockerroom at intermission.
But the Pilots came out smoking in the second half, needing less than four minutes to embark on an 11-1 run and take a 41-32 lead. By the 13-minute mark, a Raivio trey had Portland up 10, 47-37, before the Roadrunners began chipping away.
The deficit was still eight points at 58-50 when CSUB made a run and appeared to take control of the game. A pair of Latunde freethrows and a Johnson bomb sparked an 11-0 run that put the home side in front, 61-58, with 1:17 left.
But a defensive lapse on the ensuing Portland possession left Stohl wide open and he made the Roadrunners pay with a clutch three-pointer to tie the game. CSUB missed a chance to win on its final possession when Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) missed a decent look at a three-pointer with five seconds remaining.
CSUB will continue its three-game run of West Coast Conference opponents when it hosts national power Saint Mary's College Friday in Rabobank Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
University of Portland 79, CSU Bakersfield 76 (ot)
UNIV. OF PORTLAND (8?6): Niedermeyer 0-1 0-0 0; Sikma 1-3 2-2 4; Smeulders 3-9 5-6 11; Raivio 11-18 7-10 33; Campbell 4-8 2-2 12; Waterford 1-2 0-0 2; Ito 0-1 0-0 0; Stohl 5-7 2-2 17; Porter 0-1 0-0 0; Hannibal 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-51 18-22 79.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (4?10): Blakley 3-10 1-4 9; Emanuel 0-4 0-4 0; C. Brown 1-2 0-0 2; Johnson 7-12 2-4 6; Bragg 4-9 5-5 14; R. Brown 0-0 0-0 0; Carlson 1-3 0-0 3; Latunde 3-7 9-13 15; Lee 2-3 0-0 4. TOTALS: 23-55 19-34 76.
Halftime: CSUB 31-30. Regulation: 61-61. 3-point goals--UP 11-23 (Stohl 5-7, Raivio 4-9, Campbell 2-4, Niedermeyer 0-1, Ito 0-1, Porter 0-1); CSUB 11-27 (Johnson 7-9, Blakley 2-8, Bragg 1-3, Carlson 1-3, Emnauel 0-2, Johns 0-2). Fouled out--Nidermeyer, Smeulders. Rebounds--UP 35 (Sikma 13); CSUB 31 (Latunde 8). Assists--UP 15 (Sikma 5); CSUB 12 (Johns 4). Total fouls--UP 24, CSUB 18. Technical fouls--None. A-1,508.
