BAKERSFIELD, Calif.,- The CSUB Roadrunners (10-16, 5-5 WAC) will close out the home portion of their Western Athletic Conference schedule this week with a pair of games at the Icardo Center that will play an important part in the Roadrunners' seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament in Las Vegas.
The Roadrunners are currently in third place among tournament-eligible teams at 5-5 with a one-game lead over Seattle (4-6) in the standings. The 'Runners also enter the week two games back of Missouri-Kansas City, who at 6-4 is currently in the second spot. CSUB hosts Kansas City on Saturday night.
First for the Roadrunners however is Chicago State (6-20, 2-7 WAC) on Thursday night. It's Heart-Disease Awareness Night and the first 500 fans receive a 'Runners All-Heart Bracelet. The Cougars are coming off a 61-50 loss to Missouri-Kansas City Saturday afternoon but have managed a pair of wins in their last four games, a 78-73 win at home over Texas-Pan American and a 56-55 win at Grand Canyon on January 31.
The 'Runners defeated the Cougars 57-41 earlier this season in Chicago as the 'Runners held Chicago State to just 41 points, the fewest CSUB has ever allowed to an NCAA Division I opponent. In that game Tyrell Corbin (Sr., Columbia, S.C., Salt Lake City CC) and Aly Ahmed (Jr., Alexandria, Egypt, Midland CC) scored 13 points apiece to lead the 'Runners in the win.
“They're going to try to come in and be better offensively than they were,” said CSUB head coach Rod Barnes. “But I think our defense has been our mainstay this year and our rebounding and we think we have that advantage against their team but we are going to have to work at it; they're a hardworking hard-playing team and they've improved since the last time we played them.”
Saturday night the Roadrunners will host Missouri-Kansas City (11-15, 6-3 WAC) in a game that could help the 'Runners gain control of the second spot in the conference standings. The 'Runners suffered one of their toughest losses of the season in Kansas City on January 22, leading by 12 points with 5:32 to play before the Kangaroos outscored CSUB 21-6 over the final minutes to steal the home win. The Roadrunners managed only two field goals during that stretch and turned the ball over four times.
“That's one of our stingers,” Barnes said. “I thought for about 35 minutes that it was our game, you almost felt like the game got stolen from you…you walk away wondering what happened?”
UMKC plays at Seattle in a rare Wednesday night conference game before coming to Bakersfield.
Thursday night's game against Chicago State will be available on Newstalk 1180 & 96.1 FM KERN with live video feeds available on GoRunners.com and Bakersfield.com, in partnership with The Bakersfield Californian.
Saturday night's game will also be available on Newstalk 1180 & 96.1 FM KERN with video coverage available through the WAC Digital Network.
Tipoff for both games is scheduled for 7 P.M., tickets are available at Vallitix.com and by calling 654-BLUE.
