BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? The CSUB men's basketball team completed a season sweep of Long Beach State with a taut 77?71 victory over the 49ers Saturday night at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield.
CSUB (8?17 overall) needed two late three-pointers by Trent Blakley to force overtime in an 80?77 CSUB victory on Jan. 23. Blakley drove the nail in the the 49er coffin from long range again Saturday, drilling a three from the corner with the shot clock winding down and the Roadrunners clinging to a 67?66 lead at the 1:16 mark.
Blakley and freshman guard Donovan Bragg then combined to go 6-for-6 from the line to help Bakersfield close out the game.
The game was as close as the final score indicated, with Long Beach (6?18) continuously taking tenuous leads only to see Bakersfield respond to every run. The 49ers led by a much as 28?21 late in the first half before the 'Runners closed the period on a 14?6 run to take a 35?34 lead into the locker room.
The 49ers retook the lead at the 14-minute mark of the second half on a Maurice Clady layup, 43?42. They held the lead for the next 10 minutes but never managed to pull away. A Zack Grasmick three?pointer put CSUB back on top, 60?58, and set up a sequence of seven lead changes over the next three minutes.
A pair of Bragg free throws gave Bakersfield the lead for good at 67?66 just inside the two?minute mark, setting the stage for Blakley's big trey that gave the 'Runners ultimate control.
Blakley led for 'Runners in double figures with 18 points. Grasmick, who became just the ninth player in CSUB history to appear in 100 games, added 17 points while Bragg chipped in 13 points and a game?high five assists. Demarcus Hall came off the bench to grab a game?high 10 rebounds.
Fresno State transfer Donovan Morris, who lit up CSUB for 27 points in the first meeting, matched his career?high with 32 points for Long Beach. Clady added a career?high 17 points of his own.
CSUB hits the road against to play at Western Athletic conference contender Boise State Wednesday. They return home to host fellow NCAA Division I Independent school UT?Pan American Friday.
CSU Bakersfield 77, Long Beach State 71
LONG BEACH STATE (6-18 overall) -- Morris 11-18 7-8 32; Clady 5-11 5-6 17; Lazdauskas 6-10 0-0 12; Plater 4-8 1-2 10; Peys 0-2 0-0 0; Williams 0-1 0-0 0; Fleming 0-1 0-0 0; Freeman 0-1 0-2 0; Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Gallow 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 13-18 71.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (8-17 overall) -- Blakley 4-13 9-11 18; Grasmick 5-10 3-3 17; Johns 6-10 2-5 14; Bragg 3-6 6-6 13; C. Brown 2-3 1-1 5; R. Brown 2-2 1-2 5; Johnson 1-3 0-0 3; Lee 1-1 0-0 2; Hall 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 22-28 77.
3-point goals--LBSU 6-17 (Morris 3-5; Clady 2-4; Plater 1-4; Gallow 0-2; Peys 0-2), CSUB 7-15 (Grasmick 4-7; Johnson 1-2; Bragg 1-2; Blakley 1-2; Johns 0-2). Fouled out--LBSU-None, CSUB-None. Rebounds--LBSU 28 (Morris 8), CSUB 34 (Hall 10). Assists--LBSU 11 (Lazdauskas 2; Clady 2; Morris 2; Gallow 2), CSUB 10 (Bragg 5). Total fouls--LBSU 17, CSUB 15. Technical fouls--LBSU-None, CSUB-None. A-4790
