ROADRUNNERS (8-20 overall) vs.
CAL STATE FULLERTON (13-15 overall)
MARCH 3, 2009 ? 7:00 p.m.
RABOBANK ARENA ? BAKERSFIELD, CALIF.
KERN NEWSTALK 1180 AM ? BRIGHT HOUSE CH. 21
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TITAN NOTES
The Titans played a tough early season schedule that included road games against Hawaii, Wake Forest, Saint Mary's and LSU...the Titans are the defending Big West Conference champions...after tonight, they will play at UC Irvine before opening Big west Conference Tournament action Mar. 11...Sr. G Josh Akognon averages an impressive 23.5 ppg and ranked No. 7 nationally in the latest NCAA stats...he also ranks No. 2 at 4.14 3?point field goals per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Fullerton leads the all-time series 8-2. . .Fullerton leads the series in Bakerfield, 3-1. . .Frank Robinson scored 22 points in the Titans' win in Rabobank Arena last season. . .Demarcus Hall scored a game?high 25 for CSUB in that game. . .Donald Lee (L.A. Pierce JC) posted career highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds -- all in the second half.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
2009 @CSUF 87, 'RUNNERS 64
2008 CSUF 84, @'RUNNERS 80
2008 @CSUF 92, 'RUNNERS 75
1986 @CSUF 83, 'RUNNERS 46
1976 CSUF 101, @'RUNNERS 69
1975 CSUF 64, @'RUNNERS 59
1974 CSUF 37, @'RUNNERS 35
1974 @CSUF 76, 'RUNNERS 63
1973 'RUNNERS 64, @CSUF 57
1973 @'RUNNERS 69, CSUF 54
WHEN LAST WE MET: Josh Akognon enjoyed the second-greatest scoring day ever by a CSUB men's basketball opponent, pouring in 41 points to lead Fullerton to an 87?64 win.
Akognon nailed six three-pointers and made all 15 of his free throw attempts. His 41 points trail only the 47 points posted by Dewan Scott of Seton Hall on Dec. 20, 1977, on CSUB's opponent scoring list.
Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC) came off the bench to lead the Roadrunners with 19 points while grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Terrence Johns (Chicago/Bakersfield College), who scored a career?high 26 points in Titan Gym last season, added 18. Led by their efforts, CSUB out?scored the Titans 49?40 over the final 24 minutes.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Jan. 31 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.
AND, FINALLY, ROAD SWEET ROAD: Although CSUB entered the final two weeks of the season just 1?14 outside Kern County, it put the “road” back in Roadrunners with a flourish on its final trip. CSUB ended the 2008?09 season with consecutive road victories at Utah Valley University and Cal Poly. The wins marked CSUB's first consecutive road victories since wins over UC Riverside, San Diego and Sacramento State from Dec. 22, 2007 through Jan. 15, 2008.
WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? Forty minutes seems to be a about five minutes more than the 'Runners have needed to decide games since moving to the NCAA Division I level. In 66 games played since making the jump, CSUB is 14?1 when leading after the first 35 minutes. On the flip side, the 'Runners have just five wins (5?46) trailing with five minutes remaining.
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 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.
ON THE BLOCK: Sophomore forward Cory Brown (Lakeside/El Capitan HS) has started to assert himself late in the season, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Fifteen of Brown's team?leading 23 blocked shots have come in the last nine games. That span includes multiple blocks in four of his last seven games.
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.
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 745?347 (.682).
'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 33?86 in 119 games against 45 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 157?132 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.
