BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - With the start of the regular season six days away the Bakersfield Roadrunners used Saturday night for a fine tuning as they defeated Whittier College 82-62 behind 24 points from Javonte Maynor (R-Sr., Atlanta, Ga., Georgia State) in an exhibition game at the Icardo Center.
The Roadrunners never trailed in the game and opened up a double-digit lead just five minutes into the contest. With the two teams exchanging game-opening three-pointers the Roadrunners went on a 16-0 run over the next 5:47 to lead 19-3. The Roadrunners never led by fewer than 11 points for the rest of the evening which was their halftime lead at 39-28.
“I was disappointed in our defense during the second half but during the first half I thought we played the way we needed to play in the execution of what we were doing,” said CSUB head coach Rod Barnes. “But in the second half we just faded and I told our guys we've played better defense than that last week in our scrimmage so I thought we had a drop off.”
Whittier managed to shoot 13-of-30 in the second half from the field but the Roadrunners balanced scoring and stellar rebounding never allowed the Poets to make a serious run. Bakersfield too shot the ball well in the second half posting a 18-of-35 mark from the field, good for 51 percent. The Roadrunners were also 6-of-14 from three-point range while outrebounding Whittier 49 to 32.
One of the bright spots in the first half was newcomer Dashawn Richmond (Jr., Staten Island, N.Y., Broward CC) who scored nine points including back-to-back three-pointers with less than seven minutes to play in the half. Richmond also managed eight rebounds for the Roadrunners while scoring a total of 14 points in the game.
“I thought we had balanced scoring we had guys step up and make shots, that's a positive,” Barnes said. “I thought overall we played together especially on the offensive end.”
In the second half Bakersfield would be led by Maynor's three-point shooting which extended the Bakersfield lead on several occasions, after going 0-for-2 in the first half from the outside, Maynor was 5-of-9 in the second half for Bakersfield. Maynor also added three steals and four assists in the win.
Aly Ahmed (Jr., Alexandria, Egypt, Midland College) and Kevin Mays (Jr., Queens, N.Y., Odessa CC) led Bakersfield's domination in the post where Ahmed scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while shooting 7-of-10 from the field and Mays playing for the first time at the Icardo Center, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 boards.
CSUB was 32-of-70 from the field for nearly 46% shooting and 10-of-22 from three-point range in the game.
The Roadrunners will officially open their season next Friday night against High Point University as part of the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i at 7 P.M. (PT). Bakersfield will play host Hawai'i on Saturday night Nov. 15 at 9:30 P.M. (PT) before wrapping up the tournament on Monday, Nov. 17 against Arkansas Pine-Bluff at 7 P.M. (PT). All games can be heard on Newstalk 1180 KERN and online at GoRunners.com
Following another road contest at San Diego State on Thursday, Nov. 20, Bakersfield will open the home portion of their schedule on Sunday, Nov. 23 against Delaware at the Icardo Center. Tickets are available online at Vallitix.com. Fans that also bring a new unwrapped toy will receive a general admission ticket for just $5. All toys will be distributed locally by CSUB student-athletes to those in need during the holidays.
