SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Bakersfield Roadrunners (0-3) conclude their season-opening road swing with one final stop in San Diego Thursday night as they take on No. 16 San Diego State (2-0) at Viejas Arena.
While the Roadrunners dropped three close games to open their season in Hawai'i, the Aztecs won a pair of home games to open the season, 79-58 over CSUN last Friday night and a 53-49 win over Utah on Tuesday.
San Diego State is one of the toughest teams to play at home currently riding a 16-game home winning streak at Viejas Arena, which is currently tied for third longest in program history. SDSU has also won 42-straight games against California schools heading into tonight's matchup.
The Roadrunners are seeking their first win of the season following last Friday night's 100-99 4 OT loss to eventual Rainbow Classic-champion High Point in Oahu. The Roadrunners also fell to host Hawai'i 72-65 on Saturday before nearly coming back in Monday's loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff 56-49.
Aly Ahmed (Jr., Alexandria, Egypt, Midland CC) was named to the Rainbow Classic All-Tournament team after scoring a combined 52 points for Bakersfield during the three games. Ahmed leads the team with his 17.3 ppg average, Javonte Maynor (R-Sr., Atlanta, Ga., Georgia State) is averaging 11 per contest while newcomer Kevin Mayes (Jr., Queens N.Y. Odessa CC) recorded double-doubles in two of the first three games while averaging 11 points and 11 rebounds on the Hawaiian Islands.
San Diego State is led by JJ O'Brien who's averaging 12.5 ppg this season. The story thus far for San Diego State has been defense, allowing just 53.5 points to their opponents through the first two games which leads the Mountain West Conference while also recording 12 steals.
Tonight's game can be heard on Newstalk 1180 KERN with the Dignity Health Pregame Show starting at 7 P.M. with tipoff scheduled for 7:30. The game will also be televised on Fox Sports San Diego.
The Roadrunners return home on Sunday for their home opener against Delaware at 4 P.M. Tickets for that contest are available now at Vallitix.com.
