RIVERSIDE, Calif.- Head coach Rod Barnes was wondering how much fight was remaining in his team before their second game in three days and their third game this week, but the Roadrunners assured their head coach by defending their way with steals, blocks and scoring over 40 points in the paint and fighting their way to a 67-48 win at UC Riverside Saturday night.
“I am so proud of these guys, this is a team I really enjoy coaching,” Barnes said. “I thought we defended as well as we've defended all year and I thought offensively we shared the ball as well as we have all year so I am excited about going into conference play after a game like this.”
The Roadrunners (10-5) trailed only briefly in the first half and dominated the Highlanders by forcing seven turnovers in the first half while coming up with five steals and four blocks while also holding UC Riverside (9-6) to 8-of-24 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range. The 'Runners shot 17-of-34 in the half and were 4-of-8 from three-point range and built a 19-point first-half lead including a 4:30 second stretch where they held UC Riverside scoreless. The Highlanders did close the half on a 5-0 run to trail by 14 at the break.
The Roadrunners picked up the defensive tempo in the second half, coming up with an additional four steals and four blocks and only let UC Riverside back within single digits on one occasion when they cut the lead to nine points with 14:32 remaining. Kevin Mays would then score two of his game-high 17 points sparking an 11-0 run for CSUB who stretched the lead to 19 following a fast break dunk by Jaylin Airington. Airington would also add four more points in the final four minutes to score 17 as well and give the 'Runners the 19-point win on the road.
“He [Airington] is in the groove now, he's playing a lot more confident, I'm calling plays for him and getting him more involved in what we're doing,” Barnes said. “I am really happy with the way Jaylin played, if we can beat a team by almost 20 and Aly gets just nine points says something about our scoring.”
For the second straight game CSUB scored over 40 points in the paint as the 'Runners outscored the Highlanders 42-22 in the low block. CSUB also dished out a season-high 20 assists and outrebounded UC Riverside 41-37. The 'Runners also scored 21 points off the 14 UCR turnovers. Dedrick Basile rounded out the double-digit scoring for CSUB with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 3-of-5 from three-point range. To match their defensive effort, CSUB shot 45% from the field (29-65) and managed 39% from three-point range (5-13), they held UC Riverside to less-than 35% from the field in both halves and held the Highlanders to well-below their season-average of 38% from three-point range by allowing just 2-of-12 from beyond the arc in the win.
This marks the quickest route to 10 wins for the Roadrunners since the 1997-98 season and marks the first time that CSUB has won 10 non-conference games since joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2013.
CSUB will open WAC play with three games on the road beginning Saturday, January 9 at Missouri-Kansas City. CSUB will also play at Chicago State on Monday, January 11. Saturday's conference-opener at UMKC will tip at 6 P.M. (CT) and is available on Newstalk 1180 and 96.1 FM KERN and the WAC Digital Network.
