BAKERSFIELD, Calif.- Following a 19-point win in the Western Athletic Conference home opener Thursday night at the Icardo Center over UT Rio Grande Valley, the CSUB Roadrunners now set their sights on their next opponent, the defending WAC champions New Mexico State Saturday night at the Icardo Center.
“Obviously they're a good team (NM State) and they've been a thorn in our side for the last three or four years,” Barnes said. “We'll be ready, I think our guys are looking forward to it, should be a great crowd and I'm hoping we sell the place out.”
Tickets are nearly sold out for the game, which has also been designated as the “WAC Game of the Week” on the WAC Digital Network. As of Thursday over 3200 tickets were presold for the event, the new capacity of the Icardo Center following the recent seat renovations is 3625. The box office at the Icardo Center will open Saturday at 9 A.M. through game time.
The buzz for tickets surrounding this game is for good reason, the Roadrunners are on a six-game winning streak and are 4-0 in WAC play for the first time since joining the conference three years ago. Bakersfield is 9-0 at home this season and has also won 12-straight home games dating back to last season. This year the 'Runners aren't just winning at home, they've been dominating, winning all nine games by an average of 17 points.
NM State is 12-8 on the season and 4-1 in WAC play following a 68-60 win in Seattle on Thursday. The Aggies have won three straight coming into Saturday's game following a conference sweep at home last weekend over Missouri-Kansas City and Chicago State. The Aggies are 3-6 on the road this season.
Saturday's game is a rematch of sorts for the Roadrunners who have been eliminated in the semifinals in each of the last two seasons by NM State in the WAC Tournament. Last season the 'Runners led for most of the game in Las Vegas before the Aggies went on a late run, closed out the win before defeating Seattle to win their fourth-straight WAC Tournament Championship.
This year's matchup features the top two defensive teams in the WAC as the Roadrunners are allowing a league-low 64 points per game while the Aggies are allowing 65.5. It also features the conference's top two shot blockers in Pascal Siakam of NM State who has 42 blocks on the season and CSUB's Justin Hollins who comes in with 37. Siakam not only leads NM State in blocks but he leads the Aggies and the conference in scoring (22 ppg) and rebounds (12) per contest.
CSUB enters with Aly Ahmed leading the offense with 15 points per game, Ahmed scored 16 in Thursday's win over UTRGV while going 8-14 from the floor with seven rebounds. Ahmed has been an integral part of the 'Runners offense in conference play where he's averaging 19 points per game. Post counterpart and fellow senior Kevin Mays is adding 13 points per game and is coming off a 21-point performance against UTRGV and his fifth double-double of the season after grabbing 10 rebounds. Damiyne Durham (13 ppg) and Dedrick Basile (12 ppg) are also averaging double figures for the 'Runners while Basile is averaging 18 points per game in conference play.
Saturdays game will be available live on the WAC Digital Network at www.wacsports.com/live and on Newstalk 1180 and 96.1 FM KERN.
The doors will open at the Icardo Center at 5:45, fans with general admission tickets are encouraged to arrive early to get the best seats.
