STATESBORO, Ga. – A slow start led to a big, first-half deficit for a young CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team that started four men who have been in the program for one year or less. The Roadrunners were unable to get their offense going in a cross-country road game against Georgia Southern and fell to the Eagles, 77-53, on Monday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
"That was a tough game, but it's one of those things you expect to happen at some point in the season," said Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the `Runners. "I didn't want it to happen this early. [Georgia Southern] did a really good job tonight. We started off turning the ball over right from the beginning, playing at their pace. We have a lot of guys still trying to figure each other out."
Barnes continued to talk about what his young team and his excitement for its future: "Heart and desire. We got down, it was discouraging, but we didn't play with the composure we needed to play with. It's a learning process. We have to correct some things. We'll talk about it, work on it, and go on to the next game."
The Eagles got out to a quick start, hitting a pair of three-pointers on their first two possessions of the game. Senior Shon Briggs answered with a three-pointer of his own as the two teams settled into a groove. The `Runners found themselves down 19-9 with just under 8 minutes remaining in the first half.
A nice set of offensive plays helped CSUB get the offense going toward the end of the first period, but a foul with one second to go gave Georgia Southern three free throws. The Eagles' Tookie Brown hit all three from the charity strip as the `Runners trailed 36-19 going into halftime. CSUB shot just 32% (8-25) from the field while missing all six attempted free throws.
Georgia Southern increased its lead to as many as 29 points at 65-36 with 7:28 left in the game. Despite the deficit, the game began to slow to CSUB's preferred pace with the Eagles racing into foul trouble as the `Runners continued to pound the paint. The `Runners shot an improved 46% from the field in the second half, but GS stayed hot, converting on over 50% of its shots en route to a win at home.
In the second half, junior Rickey Holden and redshirt senior Fallou Ndoye stepped up and scored seven points apiece for the `Runners. On the game, Ndoye, a native of Taif, Senegal, led all `Runners with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting while adding six rebounds. Redshirt junior Damiyne Durham was close behind with 12 points (4-12 FG) while redshirt senior Brent Wrapp contributed two points, six rebounds, and five assists against the Eagles.
CSU Bakersfield (1-1) will return home for a short stay before hitting the road again. The Roadrunners will travel to Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 16 to take on the No. 3 ranked team in the country, the Arizona Wildcats, before wrapping up the weekend at Lamar on Nov. 19. CSUB did not shy away from tough road trips and strong opponents as nationally ranked UCLA awaits a visit at the end of the month as well.
"Arizona is a tough team," Barnes said when asked about the team's next opponent. "They are going to try to get after us from the very beginning. We had some good shots early that didn't go down. This is still the same team I was excited about before we got on the plane. It's a marathon, a process, and I was prepared for it. We know our schedule and what our opponents have done."
~GoRunners.com~
