EDINBURG, Texas.- Kevin Mays recorded his seventh double-double of the season leading the Roadrunners with 18 points on 6-of-12 from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds as CSUB used a monster 18-3 run in the second half to take down UT Rio Grande Valley 70-57 Saturday night.
The 'Runners shook off a slow offensive start and overcame a run by the Vaqueros early in the second half to earn their 19th win of the season as they clinched the second seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament following a Seattle loss at NM State. The Roadrunners have just two regular season games remaining, Saturday, Feb. 27 vs. Grand Canyon and Saturday, March 5 vs. Seattle.
“Defensively I thought we had enough in the tank but in the first half we tried to play a little faster because we feel we have a little more depth than they do,” said CSUB head coach Rod Barnes. “Offensively we didn't convert, we got some easy shots, the same shots Kevin (Mays) made in the second half he missed in the first half, but I just thought the guys were a little tight to begin with.”
In Saturday's first half, six ties and 10 lead changes was put to rest when CSUB went on a 9-0 run to take a 31-22 lead with 3:31 remaining. The 'Runners however would allow a 5-0 run capped by a UTRGV buzzer-beating three-pointer as their lead was cut to 31-27 at the half.
The second half started with more offensive struggles for CSUB who were held scoreless for the first four minutes of the period while UTRGV went on a 7-0 run. The scoreless streak panned 7:13 before CSUB would score with a pair of Jaylin Airington free throws cutting the UTRGV lead to two points.
The Roadrunners would then embark on an 18-3 run over the next six minutes to take control of the game for good. Mays and Airington led the charge scoring 14 of the team's points during that stretch. Mays scored 14 second-half points for CSUB as the Roadrunners closed out the road win by hitting nine of their final 12 free-throws in the last three minutes.
“I told the guys to just hang in there because I knew they way we defend we were going to be alright,” Barnes said. “I just felt like we would wear them down and eventually separate ourselves like did.”
CSUB shot 41% in the second half after just 28% in the first half and managed to defend well enough to hold the Vaqueros to less-than 40% in both halves of play. Damiyne Durham added 12 points including 3-of-10 from three-point range all of which came in the first half. Shaquille Hines led UTRGV with 13 points before fouling out.
The Roadrunners return to action Saturday, Feb. 27 as they host Grand Canyon at the Icardo Center. That game is homecoming and is expected to sell out with already 2,000 tickets sold. The CSUB ticket office will be selling tickets all week by calling 654-BLUE or emailing tickets@csub.edu. Fans can also save 25% on their ticket order by mentioning the promo code “Come Home” when ordering through CSUB.
Purchases are also available online at Vallitix.com. The Icardo Center box office will be open on Friday and Saturday beginning at 9 A.M.
