ROADRUNNERS (5-14 overall) at
OREGON STATE (7-10 overall, at Stanford Jan. 24)
JANUARY 26, 2009  ?  7:00 p.m.
GILL COLISEUM  ?  CORVALLIS, ORE.
KERN NEWSTALK 1180 AM  ?  NO TELEVISION FOR THIS GAME

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BEAVER BITES
The Beavers stunned high?flying Cal, 69?65, Thursday and will play at Stanford Saturday before hosting CSUB...had lost four straight before the win over the Bears...Sophomore guard Calvin Haynes is the only Beaver averaging double figures at 15.2 ppg...Sophomore forward Omari Johnson adds 5.1 rpg...Guards Seth and Josh Tarver are cousins of standout Roadrunner women's guard Kelley Tarver.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be just the second meeting between CSUB and Oregon State in men's basketball. . .This will be the first meeting in Corvallis. . .CSUB is 13?18 all?time vs. Oregon State in all sports. . .11 of those wins came in wrestling. . .The others came in men's soccer.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS
2008    OSU 77, @'RUNNERS 55

THIS DATE IN ROADRUNNER HISTORY

The 'Runners have won five consecutive Jan. 26 affairs. The last came in a 65?57 win at Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 26, 2007.

WHEN LAST WE MET: In a game that was close for the first 10 minutes, Oregon State pulled away midway through the first half and kept the Roadrunners at arm's length for the duration of a 77?53 win last season in Rabobank Arena. Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) was the only 'Runner to reach double figures in the game, finishing with 10 points and a game?high nine rebounds off the bench. Marcel Jones hit three three?pointers as part of a game?high 18 points for the Beavers.

HALF AS GOOD: Perhaps the oddest trend to come out of the CSUB season so far in 2008?09 has been this: the Roadrunners have actually won more games when trailing at the half (3) than when they were leading going into intermission (2). That trend continued in their last game when they held a 38?35 halftime lead before falling at UC Irvine.

50 WOULD BE NIFTY: Head Coach Keith Brown will be looking to pick up his 50th win as CSUB's head coach Monday night at Oregon State. Note that his win total does not include three victories he picked up while subbing for then head man Henry Clark during his eight seasons as an assistant coach.

HIGH 5: The CSUB offense produced five double?figure scorers in Wednesday's game at UC Irvine. In descending order, they were: Trent Blakley, 18; Terrence Johns (Chicago/Bakersfield College), 11; Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy), 11; Donavan Bragg (Inglewood/Serra HS), 10; Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC), 10.

It marked the first time five 'Runners have scored in double figures since a 76?74 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Feb. 1, 2007 ? a span of 59 games. For the record, the five that scored in double figures that night were Richard Andrews, Carl Damus, Dwuan Rice, and Blakley, who led the 'Runners with 13 points.

A BETTER THAN 50?50 CHANCE: The 'Runners shot better than 50 percent (25?for?49, 51.0 percent) for the fifth time this season against UC Riverside, yet, shockingly, did not win the game. Since February 2000, the 'Runners are now 36?2 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, with both losses coming this season.

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 six of their last seven games decided by four or fewer points, including Jan. 17's 64?63 heart?breaker vs. UC Riverside.

PAC IT UP: While the 'Runners are in just their second full season of NCAA Division I competition, they have a bit of history against Pac?10 competition. CSUB is 169?106 all?time vs. Pac?10 competition in traditional head?to?head sports (excluding track, swimming and golf), with the majority of those results coming in wrestling (in which the 'Runners are Pac?10 members and two?time conference champions).

LATUNDE IN TOP 5 AMONG INDEPENDENT REBOUNDERS: Junior forward Santwon Latunde  checks in at No. 5 in the nation among NCAA Division I Independent rebounders. He enters the Oregon State game averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. Stevy Worah-Ozimo of North Carolina Central tops the list at 8.8 rpg.

OTHER 'RUNNER NOTABLES IN THE INDY RANKINGS: Junior forward Trent Blakley is the No. 10 spot on the Independent scoring list at 13.4 points per game. He is also No. 9 in rebounding at 5.6 rpg. Donavan Bragg is No. 6 in free throw percentage at 80.3 percent (min. 2.0 FTM per game). Alex Johnson is No. 11 in assists at 2.8 apg.

'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 30?80 in 110 games against 43 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 154?126 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 742?341 (.685).

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.