OREM, Utah — The CSUB men's basketball team put itself in position to pull off its first road win of the season, but after Bryan Emanuel secured a late rebound, Utah Valley's Corey Claitt grabbed him around the waist from behind with both arms, tackled him and prevented the Roadrunners from a final shot at the victory in a 64–63 UVU win Saturday night at the UVU Events Center.
Freshman Stephon Carter (Garces HS) led a balanced CSUB offense with a game-high 17 points. Early foul trouble hampered both Trent Blakley (Alta Loma HS) and Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md./Cowley County CC), but both finished with 10 points in just 23 minutes. Latunde added a game-high nine rebounds.
The game was close throughout. UVU led for most of the first half and much of the second half, but couldn't shake the Roadrunners, who kept the game within arm's length until an 8-0 run turned a 48-41 deficit into a 49-48 Roadrunner lead with 10:36 to play. Both teams would hold four-point leads down the stretch, but neither would lead by more.
A Claitt free throw gave the Wolverines what seemed like a secure four-point lead at 64-60 with 11 seconds remaining. But freshman Marcus Hall (Bakersfield Christian HS) nailed a big three to make it a one-point game with 3.7 seconds on the clock.
Just six-tenths of a second expired before Hall fouled Claitt on the ensuing inbounds pass. Claitt missed both free throws and Emanuel grabbed the long rebound off the second miss. But as Emanuel turned to race up the floor, Claitt grabbed him around the waist from behind and simply tackled him to the floor, allowing the final seconds to tick harmlessly away.
CSUB returns home to begin a run of six consecutive games against Big West Conference opponents when it hosts Cal State Fullerton Tuesday night in Rabobank Arena.
