David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography

Box Score

Utah Valley UVU 20-8, 9-3 WAC

CSU Bakersfield CSUB 11-16, 4-8 WAC

Utah Valley UVU

20-8, 9-3 WAC

Final

Feb. 22, 2018

CSU Bakersfield CSUB

11-16, 4-8 WAC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Utah Valley UVU	31	39	70
CSU Bakersfield CSUB	27	20	47

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | February 22, 2018

CSUB Stumbles As UVU Surges In Second Half

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2/24/2018 | 6 p.m.

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Over a month and a half separated the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team's two meetings against Western Athletic Conference foe Utah Valley, but both games shared the same script. The Roadrunners went toe to toe with the Wolverines through the first half, but could not suppress a second-half surge as UVU went on to a 70-47 win in the Icardo Center.

"I'm thankful for our crowd and I'm appreciative of all the people that come out and support this team," said CSUB Head Coach Rod Barnes after playing in front of 2,644 fans. "You got to give Utah Valley and their coaching staff credit. They have a very good basketball team and I thought they played well tonight."

Barnes went on to talk about his team's ups and downs during Thursday's contest: "For the first half, our guys were really in tune with what we were trying to do defensively. I thought, the second half, we tried to play good defense, but they got in transition and they are a high scoring team. They were just a better team tonight."

The `Runners jumped out to a five-point lead in the first six minutes of the game, but an 18-4 UVU run over an eight-minute span helped the Wolverines take a 22-13 lead. Freshman Greg Lee provided a spark for CSUB and knocked down a three-pointer with two seconds left in the half to make the score 31-27, UVU.

A four-point deficit would be the closest CSUB would get as a 20-2 run near the start of the second half helped the Wolverines grab a 53-31 lead. The `Runners answered back with an 11-5 run, including a pair of dunks and a slick jumper in the paint by senior Moataz Aly, but the momentum would not hold out.

With less than five minutes to play, the Wolverines scored 10-straight points to seal their road victory over the `Runners. Despite outscoring UVU in the paint (28-20), off turnovers (20-17), on second chances (7-4), on fast breaks (8-2), and on bench points (29-13), CSUB lost the battle of the three-point line. The Wolverines converted 12-of-16 (.462) from behind the arc compared to CSUB's 3-of-17 (.176) in Thursday's game.

The `Runner offense was led by Aly, a senior center, who knocked down 6-of-8 field goal attempts for a team-high 12 points. Redshirt senior Brent Wrapp did a little bit of everything, chipping in five points, five rebounds, three assists, and a career-high four steals against UVU.

With the loss, CSUB drops to 11-16 (4-8 WAC) on the season and all signs suggest the `Runners will wind up as the seventh-seed at the WAC Tournament in March. With two games left in WAC play and many variables still to be determined, anything could happen as March Madness approaches.

The `Runners will close out their home schedule on Saturday against Seattle U. CSUB will celebrate its seniors before tipoff, which is set for a special 6 p.m. time. At halftime, the Bakersfield campus will reveal its homecoming court.

~GoRunners.com~

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