ROADRUNNERS (6-15 overall) at
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (9-10 overall)
FEBRUARY 5, 2009 ? 7:00 p.m.
THE MATADOME ? NORTHRIDGE, CALIF.
KERN NEWSTALK 1180 AM ? NO TELEVISION FOR THIS GAME
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE VERSION OF THIS RELEASE
MATADOR NOTES
The Matadors were picked to win the Big West title in the preseason coaches poll...after a slow start, CSUN has won three straight and five of seven...Deon Trevesant led CSUN with 15 points in the first meeting, and was its leading scorer at 13.3 ppg but has not played the past 7 games...Tremaine Townsend leads four Matadors in double figures at 11.9 ppg...he adds a team?high 8.8 rpg.
SERIES HISTORY
CSUB leads 20?19. . .Aside from one four?game run by CSUB, neither team has won more than three in a row in the series. . .CSUB took the first meeting this season to snap a three?game win streak by CSUN. . .15 of the 39 meetings have been decided by four points or less, including one OT game in 1978.
LAST 10 MEETINGS
2009 @'RUNNERS 67, CSUN 65
2007 @CSUN 92, 'RUNNERS 76
1990 @CSUN 96, 'RUNNERS 88
1990 CSUN 61, @'RUNNERS 58
1989 'RUNNERS 71, @CSUN 59
1989 @'RUNNERS 86, CSUN 59
*1988 @'RUNNERS 57, CSUN 56
1988 CSUN 67, @'RUNNERS 61
1988 @CSUN 50, 'RUNNERS 49
1987 CSUN 72, @'RUNNERS 65
*CCAA Tournament Game
THIS DATE IN ROADRUNNER HISTORY
Ray Burris set a CSUB record by making 15 free throws versus Sacramento State on Feb. 8, 1989.
WHEN LAST WE MET: In the 2008?09 home opener, Donavan Bragg (Inglwood/Serra HS) made a driving layup then converted a three points play in the closing seconds to lift the 'Runners to a 67?65 win on Nov. 21 Bragg and Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC) led the way with 17 points apiece. Deon Tresvant scored 15 points to lead the Matadors. Tremaine Townsend added a game?high 14 rebounds.
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 (4) than when they were leading going into intermission (2). That trend continued in their last game when they trailed Utah Valley 30?27 at the half before coming back to post a 69?60 win Saturday afternoon.
50 WAS NIFTY: Head Coach Keith Brown picked up his 50th win as CSUB's head coach Saturday afternoon against Utah Valley. 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.
HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday's win versus Utah Valley was CSUB's fifth home win of the season. That surpasses last season's total of four home wins for the most in the NCAA Division I era of CSUB Athletics.
BUT NOT ROAD SWEET ROAD: While the 'Runners evened their record at 5?5 in Rabobank Arena, they enter their three game road trip just 1?10 outside Kern County this season. Counting back to an 80?77 win at Long Beach State on Jan. 23, 2008, CSUB is 1?18 on the road. For the record, that win was a 79?72 victory at Pepperdine on Nov. 29, 2008.
A BETTER THAN 50?50 CHANCE: The 'Runners shot better than 50 percent (22?for?41, 53.7 percent) for the sixth time this season last week at Oregon State, yet, shockingly, did not win the game. Since February 2000, the 'Runners are now 36?3 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, with all three 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.
BOMBS AWAY FOR JOHNSON: Sophomore guard Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) is heating up from beyond the arc. He is shooting 15?for?31 (48.4 percent) from three?point land over the last five games. He opened the season just 1?for?10 from long range and was wallowing around 30 percent before his recent hot streak.
LATUNDE IN TOP 5 AMONG INDEPENDENT REBOUNDERS: With his 10?rebound effort versus Utah Valley Saturday, Santwon Latunde moved up to No. 4 in the nation among NCAA Division I Independent rebounders. He enters the Cal State Northridge game averaging 7.6 rebounds per game. Gordan Watt of Houston Baptist tops the list at 8.7 rpg.
OTHER 'RUNNER NOTABLES IN THE INDY RANKINGS: Alex Johnson is up to No. 2 in three?point field goal percentage at 38.7 (min. 1.5 per game). Junior forward Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) is the No. 10 spot on the Independent scoring list at 13.7 points per game. He is also No. 13 in rebounding at 5.7 rpg. Donavan Bragg is No. 11 in assists at 2.9 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 31?81 in 112 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 155?127 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 743?342 (.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.
