ROADRUNNERS (4-10 overall) vs.
SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE (12-1 overall)
JANUARY 2, 2009 ? 7:00 p.m.
RABOBANK ARENA ? BAKERSFIELD, CALIF.
KERN NEWSTALK 1180 AM ? BRIGHTHOUSE NETWORKS CH. 21
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GAEL NOTES
The Gaels are the highest ranked team (31st AP) CSUB has faced since squaring off against 4th?ranked Stanford in 1999...So. G Patrick Mills, who led Australia to a deep run at the 2008 Olympic Tournament, leads a long and talented roster by averaging 19.2 ppg...Jr. C Omar Samhan adds 14.9 ppg...Sr. F Diamon Simpson averages a double?double at 12.6 ppg and 12.1 rpg.
SERIES HISTORY
SMC leads 4?1. . .This will be the third-consecutive season the teams have met. . .The three previous meetings all came between 1975 and 1977. . .The home team has held serve in the previous five meetings. . .The last meeting in Bakersfield took place on Dec. 20, 1975.
LAST 10 MEETINGS
2008 @SMC 94, 'RUNNERS 66
2007 @SMC 65, 'RUNNERS 57
1977 @SMC 93, 'RUNNERS 91 (ot)
1976 @'RUNNERS 105, SMC 86
1975 @SMC 78, 'RUNNERS 68
THIS DATE IN ROADRUNNER HISTORY
CSUB has rung in its previous 37 new years by posting an impressive 31?6 (.838) mark in its first game of each calendar year.
WHEN LAST WE MET: En route to an NCAA Tournament bid, Saint Mary's used an 11?2 run late in the first half to turn a close, 36?30 edge, into a comfortable 47?32 halftime lead in a 94?66 win on Nov. 13, 2007 in Moraga. Omar Samhan scored a game?high 25 points while Patrick Mills chipped in six assists and five steals to lead the Gaels. Terrence Johns (Chicago/Bakersfield College) led CSUB with 19 points while Cory Brown (Lakeside/El Capitan HS) added 14 points and seven rebounds.
WORKING OVERTIME: After winning their previous three overtimes games, the Roadrunners dropped their second extra?time decision in a row with Tuesday's 79?76 heartbreaker vs. Portland. The 'Runners are now 10?6 in overtime games with Keith Brown on the bench. During his tenure as head coach (2006?current), they are 4?2.
HAND IT OVER: The 'Runners have also excelled in causing turnovers this season. CSUB is forcing an average of 16.3 turnovers per game. They've forced 228 turnovers while giving up just 206 of their own.
MAYBE THEY SHOULDN'T CALL THEM FREE THROWS: Entering Tuesday's game vs. Portland, the 'Runners were shooting a healthy 72.6 percent from the line as a team. But after missing 15 free throws (19-of-34) vs. the Pilots, that average dipped to 70.7 percent.
A BETTER THAN 50?50 CHANCE: The 'Runners shot better than 50 percent (26?for?49, 53.1 percent) for the fourth time this season in the win over Cal Poly. Since Feb., 2000, the 'Runners are now 36?1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
The 'Runners shot a season?high 54.1 percent (33?for?61) in their loss at UC Davis. It marked the first time in 35 games that the 'Runners lost when shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Prior to that, CSUB hadn't wasted such an effort since shooting 56.4 percent (31?for?55) but dropping an 84?79 decision at Chico State on Feb. 18, 2000.
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: Close games have not been friendly to the 'Runners as of late. After earning a two?point, 67?65 win over Big West Conference favorite Cal State Northridge in their home opener, the 'Runners have dropped four of their last five games decided by four or fewer points.
LATUNDE IN TOP 5 AMONG INDEPENDENT REBOUNDERS: Junior forward Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC) maintains a spot in the top five in the nation among NCAA Division I Independent rebounders. He enters the new year averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. Stevy Worah-Ozimo of North Carolina Central tops the list at 8.9 rpg.
OTHER 'RUNNER NOTABLES IN THE INDY RANKINGS: Junior forward Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) checks in at No. 11 on the Independent scoring list at 12.9 points per game. Sophomore guard Donavan Bragg (Inglewood/Serra HS) and Terrence Johns are No. 3 and 4 in free throw percentage at 79.5 and 79.1 percent (min. 2.0 FTM per game). Sophomore guard Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) is 10th in assists at 3.1 apg. Senior forward Donald Lee (Los Angeles/Pierce College) is fifth in field goal percentage at 56.4 percent (min. 1.5 FGM per game).
BOMBS AWAY FOR JOHNSON: Sophomore guard Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) dialed long distance to set a career high with 23 points vs. Portland last week. Johnson nailed 7?of?9 from beyond the arc (both also career bests). His seven treys are a Rabobank Arena record and rank No. 4 all?time at CSUB. Kenny Warren made a (then) NCAA record 11 in a home win over Grand Canyon on March 12, 1993.
HOME SWEET HOME: The 'Runners will be gunning for their fourth home win of the season when Saint Mary's visits on Jan. 2. That would equal their home win total from last season?their first playing a full NCAA Division I schedule. After the Saint Mary's game, the 'Runners will still have five home dates to add to their total.
'RUNNERS vs. DI COMPETITION: Although 2008?09 is just the second time the Roadrunners have taken on a full NCAA Division I schedule, Bakersfield already has a bit of history in NCAA Division I play. The 'Runners own an all?time mark of 29?76 in 105 games against 42 different Division I opponents. Note that this mark does not include games against current DI teams that were not DI when they met CSUB.
WE MEET AGAIN: The 'Runners may be relative new kids on the block at the NCAA Division I level, but they possess a wealth of experience against the Division I opponents they will meet this season. CSUB owns an aggregate 153?122 all?time record against this season's opposition. Note that many of those results came when both CSUB and its opposition were competing at the Division II level.
37 YEARS OF CSUB BASKETBALL: The 2008?2009 season will mark the 38th anniversary of Roadrunner men's basketball at CSUB. Since the program's inception in 1971?72, the Roadrunners have posted an impressive all?time record of 741?337 (.687).
WHERE OTHERS HAVE GONE BEFORE: Making the leap from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I play is a big step. It's also a step taken by several Roadrunner rivals over the past few seasons. Bakersfield is the sixth West Region school to make the jump since 1990. The others are: Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Sacramento State, UC Davis and UC Riverside.
In fact, DII and the California Collegiate Athletic Association have been jumping off points for many of the current DI programs in the West. All nine Big West Conference members are former DII schools and all but UC Irvine were formerly in the CCAA. Other former DII and CCAA schools from the West include Fresno State, Pepperdine, San Diego State and San Jose State.
