BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Live by the buzzer beating three–pointer, die by the buzzer–beating three–pointer. The CSUB men's basketball team forced overtime on a Stephon Carter (Garces HS) three at the buzzer, but Idaho's Jeff Ledbetter returned the favor by draining a three from the wing as the overtime horn sounded to lift the Vandals to a 78–77 win in Rabobank Arena.

Carter worked his way out of a two–game slump, leading all scorers with 25 points. He took over at the end of regulation, scoring 11 straight points, opening his streak by giving CSUB (8–8 overall) its first lead at 59–58 with 1:21 remaining.

In the final 19 seconds, Idaho (11–4) got two free throws apiece from Brandon Wiley and Deremy Geiger to pull ahead 62–59. With six seconds remaining Donavan Bragg (Inglewood/Serra HS) pushed the ball up the floor and found Carter in the corner in front of the CSUB bench. Carter banked his second three of the game from a sharp angle at the buzzer to force the extra period.

The 'Runners appeared to take control early in the overtime, using a 7–0 run to take their biggest lead at 72–66 with 1:47 to play. But a costly turnover inside the final 45 seconds gave Idaho an uncontested layup that made it a one–point game, 74–71. After a pair of Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) free throws restored the three–point at 76–73, Kyle Barone made a layup with 13 seconds to play to make it a one–point game yet again.

Ledbetter fouled Johnson following the inbounds pass, but Johnson missed the first free throw with nine seconds to play, leaving CSUB's lead at 77–75 and setting up Ledbetter's game winner from the right wing, which hit the bottom of the net as time expired. The officiating crew went to the replay monitor to determine if any time should be put back on the clock, but ruled correctly that the game was over.

The wild ending dampened a tremendous comeback effort from CSUB, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before storming back. Carter led that effort, scoring 21 points after the break. Bragg scored 17 of his 21 after halftime. Johnson chipped in 22 points, giving CSUB three 20–point scores in a game for the first time at the NCAA Division I level.

Barone led five Vandals in double figures with 20 points and a game–high 13 rebounds. Wiley also recorded a double–double with 12 points and 11 boards. Ledbetter hit three threes as part of his 13–point night.

CSUB returns to action Wednesday, hosting Big West Conference foe UC Irvine at 7 p.m. in Rabobank Arena.

UNIV. OF IDAHO (11-4)
Barone, Kyle 8-10 4-7 20; Ledbetter, Jeff 5-10 0-0 13; Wiley, Brandon 3-8 6-7 12; Henderson, Shawn 4-8 4-4 12; Geiger, Deremy 3-11 2-2 10; Tatum, Landon 4-5 1-1 9; Madison, Stephen 1-4 0-0 2; Kammerer, Joe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 17-21 78.

CSU BAKERSFIELD (8-9)
Carter, Stephon 10-19 3-8 25; Johnson, Alex 7-15 4-7 22; Bragg, Donavan 5-14 9-9 21; Baker, Reynaul 2-5 0-0 4; Savage, Rashad 1-6 1-2 3; Brown, Cory 1-3 0-2 2; Johnson, Donald 0-0 0-0 0; Jones, Kregg 0-0 0-0 0; Robinson, De'Aundray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 17-28 77.

Univ. of Idaho................   38   24   16  -   78
CSU Bakersfield...............   26   36   15  -   77

3-point goals--IDAHO 5-14 (Ledbetter 3-4; Geiger 2-8; Madison 0-2), CSUB 8-20 (A. Johnson 4-11; Bragg 2-5; Carter 2-4). Fouled out--IDAHO-Henderson, CSUB-Brown. Rebounds--IDAHO 39 (Barone 13), CSUB 35 (Savage 12). Assists--IDAHO 13 (Tatum 4), CSUB 15 (Carter 4). Total fouls--IDAHO 23, CSUB 18. Technical fouls--IDAHO-None, CSUB-None. A-1589