BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The CSUB men's basketball team took a big step forward Saturday night, holding off a late charge by visiting San Francisco for a 77–69 win in Rabobank Arena.

CSUB improves to 4–4 overall with the win, its best eight–game start in four seasons of full NCAA Division I play. USF falls to 3–4 with the loss.

Sophomore guard Stephon Carter (Garces HS) led all scorers with 23 points, his fourth 20–point game of the season. Junior forward Rashad Savage (Philadelphia/Odessa JC) added 10 points and 10 rebounds for his third double–double. CSUB also got the best performance so far from highly–regarded freshman guard Reynaul Baker (Los Angeles/Crenshaw HS) who finished with a game–high six assists.

Cody Doolin led five USF players in double figures with 17 points. Angelo Caloiaro added a 10–point, 11–rebound double–double for the Dons.

Despite relying on six freshmen to play key minutes, the Roadrunners have been in the mix in all season, holding leads in the final 10 minutes of all eight games. Saturday, despite a late USF charge that saw the Dons erase a seven point deficit with an 11–0 run six minutes into the second half, CSUB found a way to right the ship, retake the lead for all but 33 seconds of the final 8:29.

After trading leads throughout the first half, CSUB used a 10–0 run to take its biggest lead of the first half at 37–28 with 1:25 remaining. The 'Runners held the lead until a Caloiaro three–pointer sparked USF's big run, turning a 43–36 deficit into a 47–43 lead inside the final 14 minutes.

That's when CSUB Head Coach Keith Brown called a key timeout to settle his troops. The 'Runners came out of the timeout with a solid offensive possession resulting in a Donavan Bragg (Inglewood/Serra HS) three–pointer to stop the USF run. Two minutes later, a Carter fastbreak layup put CSUB back on top, 52–50, and the 'Runners never trailed again.

CSUB closed the game out with a tremendous performance by its defense. The 'Runners limited USF to just one field goal over the final 5:17 as the Dons went 1–for–5 with two turnovers on their final nine possessions.

CSUB returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Idaho State. Tip–off is at 7 p.m.

UNIV. OF SAN FRANCISCO (3–4)
Doolin, Cody 5–8 5–5 17; Williams, Michael 6–17 3–6 15; Raffington, Justin 4–6 4–4 12; Blackwell, Perris 5–5 1–2 11; Caloiaro, Angelo 3–7 2–2 10; Diarra, Moustapha 1–1 0–2 2; Green, Rashad 1–8 0–0 2; Johnson, Avery 0–3 0–0 0; Dickerson, Cole 0–1 0–0 0. Totals 25–56 15–21 69.

CSU BAKERSFIELD (4–4)
Carter, Stephon 9–15 4–9 23; Johnson, Alex 4–9 1–4 11; Bragg, Donavan 5–8 0–2 11; Savage, Rashad 3–8 4–4 10; Baker, Reynaul 3–5 2–2 8; Robinson, De'Aundray 2–7 2–2 6; Johnson, Donald 2–2 0–0 5; Brown, Cory 0–0 2–2 2; Kale, Cody 0–1 1–2 1; Jones, Kregg 0–1 0–0 0. Totals 28–56 16–27 77.

Univ. of San Francisco..........   31   38  –   69
CSU Bakersfield...............   38   39  –   77

3–point goals––USF 4–17 (Doolin 2–3; Caloiaro 2–6; Green 0–3; Johnson 0–2; Williams 0–3), CSUB 5–11 (A. Johnson 2–4; D. Johnson 1–1; Carter 1–2; Bragg 1–4). Fouled out––CSUB–Carter. Rebounds––USF 32 (Caloiaro 11), CSUB 36 (Savage 10). Assists––USF 10 (Green 5), CSUB 20 (Baker 6). Total fouls––USF 24, CSUB 21. Technical fouls––USF–None, CSUB–None. A–1420