LOGAN, Utah ? It was another case of a solid effort by an upstart CSUB men's basketball team simply not being enough against one of the nation's top teams Wednesday night.
CSUB led No. 23 Utah State late in the first half, but foul trouble to its top three post players combined with some timely Aggie shooting helped USU win going away, 78?57, at the Dee Glen Spectrum in Logan.
Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) and Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) each knocked down three three-pointers while leading the CSUB offense with 14 and 13 points respectively. Stavon Williams came off the bench to lead a balanced Aggie offense with 13 points.
CSUB (6-20 overall) held the lead five times in the first half, thanks to an offense that created good looks and a defense that forced Utah (25-2) to work deep into most possessions. The 'Runners took their final lead at 26-25 on a Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC) putback with 6:19 remaining.
The Aggies made their late run when the 'Runners went cold from the floor. After opening 7-of-10, CSUB made just two of its final 12 attempts in the first half. The Aggies, meanwhile, took advantage of an efficient transition offense. They created a plethora of open looks resulting in a 16-0 Utah run to end the first half with a 41-26 advantage.
The second half featured a pattern in which CSUB would make a run to cut the lead to 11 or 12 points only to see Utah build it back to the 20-point range. The 'Runners made their final thrust in the last eight minutes, cutting the biggest deficit of the game, 67-44, to just 12 points at 69-57 with 13-2 run capped by consecutive layups by reserve forward Donald Lee (L.A. Pierce College).
The CSUB defense forced a missed shot on the ensuing Aggie possession, but Brady Jardine grabbed the last of Utah's 14 offensive rebounds and dunked it to end the comeback effort.
CSUB continues its two-game swing through Utah with a rematch at Utah Valley University Friday night in Orem. The 'Runners defeated UVU 69?60 in Bakersfield on Jan. 31.
Utah State 78, CSU Bakersfield 57
CSU BAKERSFIELD (6?20): Blakley 4-8 3-5 14; Latunde 3-9 2-2 8; C. Brown 2-2 2-3 6; Johnson 4-5 2-2 13; Emanuel 1-3 0-0 3; Machado 0-0 0-0 0; Bragg 1-6 0-0 3; Johns 0-8 4-4 4; R. Brown 0-0 0-0 0; Lara 1-2 0-0 2; Lee 2-5 0-2 4. TOTALS: 18-48 13-18 57.
No. 23 UTAH STATE (25?2): Wesley 5-9 1-1 11; Wilkinson 2-7 4-4 9; P. Williams 3-6 0-0 8; Quayle 3-5 0-1 8; Newbold 2-4 2-2 7; Lee 0-0 0-0 0; Geiger 0-0 0-0 0; S. Williams 5-10 0-0 13; Jardine 2-3 3-3 7; Myaer 3-6 0-0 8; Formisano 3-4 1-1 7. TOTALS: 28-54 11-14 78.
HALFTIME: USU 41-26. 3-PT. FG: CSUB 8-16 (Johnson 3-3, Blakley 3-6, Emanuel 1-2, Bragg 1-3, Johns 0-2); USU 11-20 (S. Williams 3-6, Quayle 2-4, P. Williams 2-2, Myaer 2-4, Wilkinson 1-1). REBOUNDS: CSUB 21 (Latunde 8); USU 40 (Wilkinson 10). ASSISTS: CSUB 12 (Johnson 4); USU 22 (Newbold 7). TURNOVERS: CSUB 11, USU 13. BLOCKS: CSUB 2 (C. Brown); USU (3 (Wilkinson 2). STEALS: CSUB 7 (Latunde, Lee 2); USU 2 (Wesley, Jardine). TECHNICALS: None. FOULED OUT: None. OFFICIALS: Harris, Scyphers, George. ATTN: 8,189.
