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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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JamesSuberDD11
David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
73
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 5-4
67
Idaho IDAHO 2-6
Winner
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
5-4
73
Final
67
Idaho IDAHO
2-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 32 41 73
Idaho IDAHO 29 38 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSUB Swipes Road Game From Idaho



MOSCOW, Idaho – CSU Bakersfield survived its closest game of the season in a back-and-forth battle against Idaho on Saturday night. After 17 lead changes, the Roadrunners finally pulled away from the Vandals to pick up their first road win of the season, 73-67.

"We're growing and we're still making mistakes," said Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the `Runners. "It was a gutsy win tonight. I thought we played with a lot of character. I'm proud of these guys. We are just going to keep working. We had a rough first half, but came back in the second half and played better."

Idaho opened the game with a five-point run, but the `Runners used great passing to convert in the paint for a 7-0 run of their own. The two teams fought to take control throughout the opening period, exchanging lead nine times.

Rickey Holden gave the `Runners a 28-27 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the first after Damiyne Durham's offensive rebound set up a wide open three-pointer. Holden's trey was part of a 9-1 run that helped Bakersfield to a 32-29 lead at the halftime break. After posting career highs with 18 points and 19 rebounds in CSUB's last game, redshirt senior James Suber led all `Runners with 14 points and nine rebounds in the first half against Idaho.

A 14-6 run by the Vandals early in the second half helped Idaho build an eight-point lead at 48-40. The `Runners got an and-1 from Justin McCall followed by an elbow jumper from Holden to pull within one point with just under 12 minutes left in the game. Kevin McNeal's driving layup would give the `Runners a 51-50 lead a minute later, but Idaho took it right back with a pair of free throws.

In the closest game of the season, the `Runners and Vandals traded the lead a total of 17 times on Saturday. The last time it happened came with just under three minutes left when McNeal's step-back jumper put CSUB ahead 62-60. Bakersfield ballooned its lead to 69-62 with 55 seconds left on Justin Edler-Davis' dagger of a three-pointer. The Vandals were unable to close the gap and CSUB held on for a 73-67 road victory.

Suber posted his third-straight double-double, tallying a career-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field to go with 13 rebounds in Idaho. Holden and Edler-Davis chipped in 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Jarkel Joiner and Justin McCall both scored seven points in Memorial Gym.

As a team, CSUB out-rebounded Idaho 42-33 in the game and 20-13 in the second half. Bakersfield grabbed 19 offensive boards behind six from Suber. The `Runners were outshot by Idaho, but forced 14 Vandal turnovers behind six CSUB steals.

Barnes praised Suber for his continued success as well as McCall, McNeal and Edler-Davis for their efforts off the bench: "We have been playing a lot of guys, starting different lineups. All of those guys have played in several games. I'm proud of them for the work they put in off the bench, especially down the stretch. I'm also proud of our bigs. We had three new guys out there on the court and they finished strong for us."

CSUB (5-4) will leave Idaho and return to Bakersfield to prepare for back-to-back home games for the first time all season. The `Runners are set to host Lamar on Dec. 13 in a rematch from last year's game in Texas. On Tuesday, Dec. 18, CSUB will square off with Cal Poly in the Icardo Center. The `Runners and Mustangs will meet for the first time since 2012, but for the 58th time in the all-time series that dates back to 1972.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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