Box Score
OREM, Utah,- A Mitch Bruneel three-pointer with 2:34 to play negated a Bakersfield comeback Friday night at the UCCU Center as Utah Valley used a one-sided free-throw advantage and converted on a few late opportunities to hand CSUB a 64-55 loss.
The Roadrunners trailed 33-21 at the half after the Wolverines closed out the final 6:08 on a 16-6 run aided by a 2-of-7 shooting stretch for the Roadrunners while Utah Valley was 4-of-6 during that time and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
In the second half CSUB outscored Utah Valley 24-8 at one point to take a 45-41 lead with 6:09 remaining. CSUB however would be outscored 23-10 during the final six minutes of play with the Wolverines shooting 13 free throws in that stretch converting 12 of them.
The Roadrunners missed two of two of their final four free throws while they had a four-point lead and committed a pair of costly turnovers that prevented them from building that lead. Despite that, the 'Runners managed to retake the lead 50-49 on an Aly Ahmed (So., Alexandria, Egypt, Midlands CC) layup. Utah Valley then responded with Bruneel's three-pointer with 2:34 to play to take a 52-50 lead.
The turning point came with 1:34 to play following a Bruneel layup. Bakersfield bobbled the ball in the front court which led to a loose-ball scramble and tied-up ball called. The officials however after a lengthy video review, assessed a dead ball technical foul on Ahmed. It was his fifth of the game and Utah Valley made both free throws to hold off any Bakersfield comeback attempts.
Issiah Grayson (R-Sr., Atlanta, Ga., Southern Idaho CC) led Bakersfield with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 3-of-6 from three-point range while Ahmed added 14 points and eight rebounds while shooting 6-of-11 from the field. CSUB shot 22-of-55 in the game while holding Utah Valley to just 8-of-25 from the field but couldn't keep them from scoring with the one-sided free-throw numbers. CSUB was whistled for 25 fouls compared to 14 for Utah Valley.
Holton Hunsaker led Utah Valley with 16 points going 1-of-11 from the field but 13-of-14 from the free-throw line.
The Roadrunners can still be as high as a six-seed in the WAC Tournament next week in Las Vegas if Chicago State defeats Seattle and Grand Canyon beats UT Pan American on Saturday. The Roadrunners will be the seven seed if Chicago State beats Seattle and UTPA beats Grand Canyon. The 'Runners will be the 8th seed and face Utah Valley again if Seattle U defeats Chicago State on Saturday.
