MORAGA, Calif.- The CSUB Roadrunners (3-1) continue their three-game road trip at Saint Mary's (3-0) on Sunday as they look to rebound from their first loss of the season 68-64 at Wyoming on Wednesday. Tip off is scheduled for 5 P.M. from McKeon Pavilion.
The Gaels are unbeaten on the season and are in the midst of a six-game home stand to open the season. They have wins over San Francisco State (80-56), Manhattan (89-63) and most recently Stanford (78-61). In their last game, Boston College transfer Joe Rahon led the way with 24 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists in the win that saw the Gaels outrebound the Cardinal 34-24 and hold Stanford to just 36% shooting in the second half and just 11% from three-point range.
Saint Mary's doesn't return any starters from last season's WCC second-place team but returns five letter winners and Rahon, who sat out last season after transferring from Boston College. All-WCC freshman Emmett Naar is leading the way with 19 ppg for SMC while Rahon is adding 12 ppg and fellow red shirt Evan Fitzner is averaging 11 points per contest. He is also shooting 66% from the field and had 15 points and six rebounds against Stanford.
The Gaels are shooting 54% from the field to start the season and 40% from three-point range. They also have a +14 rebounding margin over the opponents thus far. The Gaels are 123-17 over the last nine seasons at McKeon Pavilion.
“They have one of the longest home winning streaks in the nation and they are going to be a tough test for us,” said CSUB head coach Rod Barnes. “They are really talented; the kids that they've added make their team very very good.”
“That's what we wanted, that's why we set the schedule the way we did, to get some confidence early and they go on the road and hopefully beat a really good team.”
The Roadrunners are coming off a 68-64 loss at Wyoming on Wednesday. The 'Runners had the game-tying basket and potential game-winning free throw wiped out by a controversial charging call with 5.7 seconds remaining. CSUB had erased a 13-point second-half deficit by holding the Cowboys without a field goal for an eight-minute stretch. CSUB was led by Kevin Mays who recorded his fourth double-double in as many games scoring 17 points while pulling down 12 rebounds.
Mays is also averaging five offensive rebounds per contest, best in the WAC and is second in overall rebounding at 10.5 per contest for CSUB. Mays is averaging a team-best 17.5 ppg while teammate Damiyne Durham is averaging 17 per contest as well. Durham is leading the Roadrunners from beyond the arc this season where he is shooting 47% . Senior center Aly Ahmed is coming off a 12-point game at Wyoming and is averaging 14 ppg for the Roadrunners while shooting 51% from the field.
The Roadrunners enter Sunday's game shooting 47% from the field and 36% from three-point range. They have held their first four opponents to 38% from the field and 31% from three-point range while holding a +4 rebounding margin.
Sunday's game can be heard on Newstalk 1180 & 96.1 FM KERN beginning with pregame coverage at 4:30 P.M. Video is available via SMCGaels.com.