LUBBOCK, Texas-With a long December on the road coming to a
close the CSUB Roadrunners were in a position to take one from Texas Tech
Tuesday night in Lubbock, but the Red Raiders (6-5) managed to steal the
thunder in the closing 7:42 to pull away and hand CSUB (6-7) a 74-58 loss at
United Spirit Arena.
While both teams showed some rust in the first half with a
combined 18 turnovers, back and forth leads and offensive counterpunches, the
game was in doubt heading into half with CSUB trailing 31-27. Stephon Carter
(Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Garces HS) led the 'Runners attach early with 11
first half points on 4 of 6 from the field while Adam Young (Jr., Las Vegas,
Nev., Barton CC) had 9 on 3 of 4 from three-point range in the first frame.
The Roadrunners surged ahead early in the second half thanks
to 8 points from Issiah Grayson (Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Southern Idaho CC), and a
12-6 run that gave them a 39-36 lead with 16:30 remaining. The Red Raiders
however continued to pound the ball inside to freshman forward Jordan Tolbert
who's low-block scoring led to a game-high 27 points. Texas Tech also managed
timely three-point shooting to retake the lead for good following a
three-pointer from Javarez Willis with just over 14 minutes remaining.
The momentum shift in the game came at the 7:42 mark for
Texas Tech. Following a no-call when CSUB's Donald Johnson (Sr., Lancaster,
Calif., Eastern Arizona CC) had his arm held on a pass heading his way that
ultimately went out of bounds, the Roadrunners got the ball back following a Ty
Nurse turnover, Johnson then dunked the ball to cut the Tech lead to 55-50 and
appeared to taunt Nurse laying on the baseline and was hit with a technical
foul. Nurse hit both free throws and Texas Tech quickly regained a double-digit
lead on the next possession when Terran Petteway hit a three pointer from the
top of the arc with one second remaining on the shot clock to pull ahead 60-50.
The Roadrunners would cut it to 60-54 with a brief run but
another Petteway three with 5:34 remaining extended the lead to 9 points and
CSUB was outscored 11-4 over the final five minutes as Texas Tech handed the
Roadrunners their sixth loss in the month of December and their seventh of the
season.
The Roadrunners once again shot well from the field knocking
down 47% of their shots, but they were a mere 2-7 in the second half from three
point range and turned the ball over 19 times in the game which led to 25 Tech
points. The Red Raiders also shot lights out, hitting 24 of 40 from the field
for 60% and 7 of 14 from beyond the arc to get the win.
CSUB had four players in double figures led by Carter's
season-high 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting while Johnson added 13 on 6 of 7 from
the field. Grayson scored 12 on 4 of 11 from the field and 2 of 4 from the outside
to go along with 11 points from Young on his 3 of 7 from the field and 3 of 5
from three-point range.
While the Roadrunners didn't manage a road win in December
with six attempts, they return home for a six-game home stand Friday against
Pomona-Pitzer. So far this season, CSUB is 3-0 at home. Other home opponents
during this stretch include New Mexico State on Monday, Jan. 2., #20 UNLV on
Thursday, Jan 5 at Rabobank Arena and Texas Pan-American on Saturday, Jan. 7 at
the Icardo Center.
Tickets for all games are available online at
www.GoRunners.com
