BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The CSUB men's basketball team went back to its roots Wednesday night, returning to campus and the Icardo Center for its first–ever regular season NCAA Division I game in the building. The results brought back memories of the school's glory days at the Division II level as CSUB upended San Jose State 82–77.
Sophomore guard Stephon Carter (Garces HS) poured in a career–high 32 points to help CSUB (3–2 overall) equal its best start at the NCAA Division I level. Senior guard Adrian Oliver matched his season average of 26 points, nevertheless, SJSU (3–1) was denied the opportunity to post its fourth November win for the first time since 1963.
The win should have come as little surprise given CSUB's dominance in the Icardo Center. As their Division II home from 1989 through 2006, the Roadrunners compiled an incredible 165–16 mark in the building. They'll remain undefeated there for the rest of the season as they play their final 13 regular season home games downtown in Rabobank Arena.
Wednesday's game was close throughout. San Jose never led by more than two points and CSUB never led by more than nine. A Carter layup six minutes into the first half put CSUB ahead 12–10, a lead it wouldn't relinquish until late in the second half.
Consecutive three–pointers by Carter built the Roadrunner lead to 52–43 early in the second half before the Spartans began chipping away. Consecutive buckets by Oliver finally got San Jose over the hump at 64–62 inside of seven minutes.
Four ties and one lead change later, junior guard Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) buried an NBA range three from the top of the key with 1:09 remaining to put the 'Runners ahead to stay, 74–72.
Oliver missed a short jumper with a chance to tie the game on San Jose State's ensuing possession and CSUB sealed the game from the line, making six consecutive free throws in the final 45 seconds.
Carter's 32 points eclipsed his previous high of 25 at Southern Mississippi on Jan. 12. He narrowly missed his second career double–double, finishing with nine rebounds. CSUB junior forward Rashad Savage (Philadelphia/Odessa JC) reached double figures in rebounding for the fourth consecutive game while posting his second double–double with 11 points and 11 rebounds
CSUB will look to improve to 4–2 for the first time in four seasons of Division I competition Saturday when it travels to Orange County to face Cal State Fullerton.
CSU BAKERSFIELD 82, SAN JOSE STATE 77
SAN JOSE STATE (3–1)
Oliver, Adrian 10–19 5–7 26; Graham, Justin 5–7 3–3 16; Carter, Wil 5–9 1–2 11; Shamburger, Keith 5–11 0–0 11; Henson, Joe 1–3 2–2 4; Jones, Chris 2–3 0–0 4; Douglas, Calvin 1–5 1–1 3; Ballard, Matt 1–2 0–0 2; Ton, Garrett 0–0 0–0 0; Moor, Aalim 0–0 0–0 0. Totals 30–59 12–15 77.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (3–2)
Carter, Stephon 13–20 4–4 32; Bragg, Donavan 5–10 9–10 20; Savage, Rashad 4–11 3–4 11; Johnson, Alex 2–9 2–3 7; Albright, James 2–4 0–0 5; Jones, Kregg 1–2 1–1 3; Johnson, Donald 1–2 0–0 2; Matip, Ivan 1–3 0–0 2; Brown, Cory 0–1 0–0 0; Kale, Cody 0–0 0–0 0. Totals 29–62 19–22 82.
San Jose State................ 39 38 – 77
CSU Bakersfield............... 44 38 – 82
3–point goals––SJSU 5–14 (Graham 3–4; Shamburger 1–4; Oliver 1–3; Douglas 0–3), CSUB 5–14 (Carter 2–2; A. Johnson 1–4; Bragg 1–4; Albright 1–3; D. Johnson 0–1). Fouled out––SJSU–Jones. Rebounds––SJSU 32 (Carter 12), CSUB 33 (Savage 11). Assists––SJSU 11 (Shamburger 4), CSUB 9 (Bragg 4). Total fouls––SJSU 19, CSUB 17. Technical fouls––SJSU–None, CSUB–None. A–1335.
