FRESNO, Calif.- In a close battle on the road the little things can make the difference and that was in fact the case Wednesday night as CSUB went on a five-minute field goal drought late in the second half and missed 10 free throws opening the door for a 76-68 win for Fresno State.
“We went through a stretch right there where we didn't put a lot of pressure on them as far as scoring,” said head coach Rod Barnes. “Our defense held up and with a minute and a half to go we were just down three but we got some tough breaks. We didn't do what we need to do to win on the road.”
It was the third straight game against the Bulldogs decided in the final few possessions and CSUB (6-4) appeared to be knocking on the door once again holding a six-point lead with 7:15 remaining. The Roadrunners however went scoreless for the next 3:35 minutes and were held without a field goal for 5:46 while Fresno State would end up on a 15-2 run.
CSUB cut the lead to three with 1:29 to play following a Damiyne Durham three-pointer and a foul on Fresno State (8-3). Kevin Mays made one of two free throws but Fresno responded with a layup. The 'Runners again cut the lead to three with 39 seconds remaining following another Durham jumper but that was as close as the 'Runners could manage. Fresno State made six of their seven final free throws for the eight-point win.
“I thought in the second half we gave them some momentum by turning the ball over too much, but our kids fought and I thought we played with great effort,” Barnes said.
The Roadrunners opened the game on an 8-0 run but Fresno managed to settle and took the lead for good in the half with 9:53 to play. They would lead at the break 35-30 while leading scorer Marvelle Harris was held to just three points. He would score 17 in the second half on 5-of-11 from the field for a game-high 20.
Fresno State managed to shoot 55% in the second half while taking advantage of the Roadrunners drought. They were a combined 26-of-48 for 54% in the game. The 'Runners shot 15-of-32 (47%) in the second half but Fresno State converted 18 points off 12 CSUB turnovers. The 'Runners forced 12 turnovers as well but only scored 9 points.
CSUB was led by Aly Ahmed who recorded his second double-double of the week scoring 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds. He was joined by Damiyne Durham who scored 15 points on 6-of-15 from the field. Dedrick Basile added 12 points on 4-of-14 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds, three steals and four assists. Kevin Mays rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
The 'Runners answered the challenge against Fresno's talented post outscoring the Bulldogs in the paint 38-36 and managing an even 37-37 rebound. Fresno State entered the game outrebounding opponents by a plus-8 margin.
The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for Bakersfield who returns to action on Saturday hosting Menlo College at the Icardo Center at 4 P.M.and again on Tuesday night December 22 when they host Portland State at 7 P.M. Tickets are available by calling 654-BLUE or visiting Vallitix.com.
CSUB basketball holiday ticket packs are available now including select four-game packages for both men's and women's basketball games. Visit GoRunners.com/tix for more details.
