ROADRUNNERS (9–11) vs. CAL POLY (8–10)
JANUARY 29, 2011  •  7:00 p.m.
RABOBANK ARENA  •  BAKERSFIELD, CALIF.
ESPN BAKERSFIELD 1230 AM  •  BRIGHT HOUSE CH. 21

MUSTANG MUSINGS
The Mustangs enter Saturday's game on their best roll of the season, having won 4 of their last 6 games…scored 65 points in each of their last 2 games, the 1st time all season they've gone over 60 in consecutive games…they may not score much, but they boast one of the nation's stingiest defenses, allowing just 59.4 ppg (13th nationally)…have allowed 70+ points in just 3 of 18 games…Jr. F David Hanson leads the offense at 15.2 ppg…Sr. G Shawn Lewis is the only other Mustang in double figures at 13.4 ppg…Jr. C Will Donahue is the team's top rebounder at 8.9 rpg.

SERIES HISTORY

• CSUB leads the all–time series 31–23.
• CSUB leads the series in Bakersfield, 19–8.
• This will be the 5th meeting between the schools as Div. I foes (CSUB leads 4–1).
• CSUB has won 7 straight over Cal Poly in Bakersfield dating to 1991.
• The CSUB defense has held the Mustangs under 70 points in 9 of the last 10 meetings.
• The teams have met 3 times in the postseason, with CSUB winning all 3.
• The only NCAA Tournament (Div. II) meeting was a 58–55 CSUB win in 1982.

LAST 10 MEETINGS
2010    'RUNNERS 57, at Cal Poly 53
2010    at 'RUNNERS 70, Cal Poly 63
2009    'RUNNERS 57, at Cal Poly 52
2009    at 'RUNNERS 66, Cal Poly 64
2008    at Cal Poly 66, 'RUNNERS 56
1994    at 'RUNNERS 97, Cal Poly 76
1994    'RUNNERS 61, at Cal Poly 58
1993    at 'RUNNERS 87, Cal Poly 56
1993    'RUNNERS 69, at Cal Poly 53
1993    at 'RUNNERS 90, Cal Poly 56

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Roadrunners completed a season sweep of Cal Poly with a wild 57–53 win on Jan. 30, 2010 in San Luis Obispo. CSUB opened several double–digit leads, its biggest at 14 points, but 25 offensive rebounds helped the Mustangs fight their way back to actually take a 43–42 lead with just under six minutes to play. The 'Runners scored on their next possession, however, and never trailed again to hold on for the win.

Santwon Latunde led three 'Runners in double figures and posted a 19–point, 10–rebound double–double. Stephon Carter (Garces HS) added 16 points and six assists while Donavan Bragg (Inglewood HS) grabbed a career–high 10 rebounds. David Hanson came off the bench to lead Cal Poly with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Tuesday's 77–75 win over Cal State Fullerton was CSUB's ninth of the season — a record for the NCAA Division I era of Roadrunner men's basketball. They hit the previous mark of eight wins in both 2008 and 2009. CSUB is in its fourth full season of NCAA Division I play and its first as an active Division I member.

BACK ON TRACK: After being held without a three–pointer for the first time in 23 games at San Diego (Jan. 22) junior guard Alex Johnson (Toronto/Vaughan Road Academy) bounced back with four treys in Tuesday's win over Cal State Fullerton. Johnson entered this week ranked No. 11 in three–pointers per game (3.1) and No. 29 in three–point percentage (41.7) entering this week's action.

BOMBS AWAY: The 'Runners entered the week as one of the nation's most dangerous perimeter teams, connecting on 37.7 percent (125–332) from beyond the arc through 19 games. They've been ranked as high as 13th in Division I play this season. It would rank No. 7 all–time in CSUB history (45.1 in 1987) and No. 1 in CSUB's Division I era (35.0 in 2008).

BOMBS AWAY II: The 'Runners matched their NCAA Division I record for three–pointers made in a game (No. 2 all–time) when they buried 14 treys in the win over UC Riverside on Dec. 22. Ironically, they hit that mark the first time in a win over UC Riverside in 2007 on — you guessed it — Dec. 22.

SINGLE ENGINE BOMBER: Alex Johnson has been the most prolific bomber in the CSUB squadron this season, draining 47 percent (62) of the team's 133 three–pointers.

MISSILE COMMAND: While it's been bombs away for the CSUB offense, the CSUB defense has been stalwart in its ability to protect against the long–range attack. The 'Runner defense has been ranked nationally most of the season in three–point defense (currently No. 38), holding opponents to just 30.6 percent from beyond the arc this season.

20–20–20 VISION: Despite the heart–breaking overtime loss to Idaho, the Roadrunners broke new ground at the NCAA Division I level by recording three 20–plus point scorers in a single game. Stephon Carter scored 25, Alex Johnson scored 22 and Donavan Bragg scored 21. Only three times before at the Division I level had two 'Runners reached 20 points in the same game:

THIRTYSOMETHING: Already the only player to score 30 points in a game in CSUB's NCAA Division I era, sophomore guard Stephon Carter became the first CSUB player in more than a decade to reach 30 points twice in the same season when he hung 30 on Portland State Dec. 15. Carter also scored 32 points in an 82–77 win over San Jose State on Nov. 24.

Prior to Carter's efforts this season, no Roadrunner had reached the 30–point plateau since Terri Miller scored 34 points against Central Washington on Dec. 28, 2002.

SAVAGE ON THE REBOUND: After being held to a season–low two rebounds at San Diego (Jan. 22), junior forward Rashad Savage (Philadelphia/Odessa JC) bounced back with a more typical performance in Tuesday's win over Cal State Fullerton.Savage grabbed a game–high 10 rebounds, reaching double figures for the 12th time in 20 games.

Savage continues to rank among the top rebounders in NCAA Division I basketball, pulling down 10.3 rebounds per game (tied for No. 13 nationally starting the week). He has a season–high of 17 (vs. Portland State on Dec. 15) and four games of 15–plus rebounds.

GIVE THESE LADS A HAND: The 'Runners showed great ball movement in their Dec. 22 win over UC Riverside, posting a team season–high 23 assists. The 23 dimes were CSUB's most ever at the NCAA Division I level, eclipsing the previous high of 22 assists in a 98–64 win over LMU on Jan. 7, 2008.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: The 'Runners have done a secure job taking care of the basketball this season. They average just 12.9 turnovers per game through the first 20 games of the season. That would translate to its lowest rate at the NCAA Division I level.
BANK ROBBERS: While the 'Runners jealously guard the ball, they have no qualms about taking it away from their foes, especially in Rabobank Arena. CSUB collected 10 steals Tuesday against Cal State Fullerton, its sixth double–digit steals game of 2010–11. CSUB collected a season–high 14 steals against Portland State on Dec. 15 and averages 7.8 steals per game.

WHAT A STEAL: Stephon Carter has been CSUB's leading pickpocket this season. With three more steals against Cal State Fullerton, Carter ran his streak of consecutive games with a steal to 30 dating back to last season. He owns a team–leading 49 for the season and 99 over his one season plus 20 games at the collegiate level. With his next steal he will become just the seventh player in CSUB history to record 100 steals in his career. If he keeps up his current pace, he will end his sophomore season No. 6 all–time with 120 steals. His 2.4 steals per game average in 2010–11 ranked No. 18 in NCAA Division I play entering the week.

BROWN ON THE BLOCKS: Senior big man Cory Brown (Lakeside/El Capitan HS) set a personal career high with five blocks in the Dec. 18 win over Cal State Northridge. That mark is No. 4 all–time at CSUB and No. 1 in the NCAA Division I era, eclipsing his previous best of four set versus Utah Valley on Jan. 31, 2009. He added another block in last week versus UC Irvine to bring his career total to 71, good for sole possession of 5th place. Next up is Victor Green in fourth place with 73 blocks. If he maintains his current pace, Brown will finish his career No. 4 all–time at CSUB with 81 career blocks.

For the record, Jamal Livingston is CSUB's all–time leader, needing just two seasons in blue and gold (1999–00) to collect 107 blocks.

LEADER OF THE PACK: In its Dec. 7 win over Idaho State, CSUB built its second–biggest lead in a game (34 points) since joining the NCAA Division I ranks. The only time the 'Runners led by more was a 36–point spread in what would become a 98–64 win over Loyola Marymount on Jan. 7, 2008.

KEEPING IT ON THE DOWN LOW: The 75–56 win over Idaho State on Dec. 7 was to be expected given CSUB's solid defensive effort. They've won their last 10 games when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points. Including the Dec. 18 70–69 win over Cal State Northridge, the 'Runners have won 20 of their last 31 when holding an opponent under 70.

LIVING IN THE 80's: With a youthful, more athletic team this season, the 'Runners are averaging 72.4 points per game, their highest average so far as an NCAA Division I program. With that should come more 80–plus point efforts like Dec. 22nd's 89–80 win over UC Riverside. Those have been a rarity for Div. I CSUB. It was just the eighth time that CSUB scored 80 points in a home game at the Division I level. It was just the fourth time that Division I CSUB scored 80 points and won (the others: 92–77 over Portland State on Dec. 15; 82–77 over San Jose State on Nov. 24 and 98–64 over Loyola Marymount on Jan. 7, 2008).

AND DYING IN THE 80's: While 80–point offensive games have generally been a good sign for CSUB, 80–point defensive efforts have be harbingers of doom. By allowing 80 points to UC Riverside and winning on Dec. 22, CSUB snapped 0–32 streak at the NCAA Division I level when allowing 80 or more points. The 'Runners had gone 0–34 overall when allowing 80 or more points before the win over UCR. Their previous win in such a game was a 90–87 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Feb. 25, 2006.

With the Jan. 5 102–62 loss at New Mexico, CSUB is now 1–34 at the Division I level when allowing 80 or more points.

A HALF NOTE: For the first time since last Feb. 3, the 'Runners put together two halves to make one victory in the Dec. 4 win over San Francisco. They led at halftime, 38–31. By then winning the second half, 39–38, the 'Runners won both halves of a game for the first time since defeating UC Irvine last February. It marks only the second time they have pulled that off in the last 57 games—despite having 21 victories over that run.

THE OTHER HALF NOTE: Oddly, the 'Runners won at Sacramento State on Nov. 14 despite not winning either half. That's because the game was tied at both the half and, of course, at the end of regulation.

WE MEET AGAIN: The Roadrunners entered 2010–11 with a 133–122 record all–time versus this season's opponents. Note that many of those games were played while both CSUB and their respective foes were competing at the NCAA Division II level.

39 YEARS OF CSUB BASKETBALL: The 2010–2011 season marks the 40th 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 761–381 (.666).

LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT: The CSUB Athletics program successfully completed its five–year transition to active NCAA Division I status in August. All Roadrunner teams are now fully postseason eligible at the Division I level.