BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A strong first half by CSU Bakersfield's men's basketball team followed up by a gritty performance in the second half helped the Roadrunners hold off visiting Seattle U in Saturday night's Western Athletic Conference matchup. On Senior Night in the Icardo Center, CSUB sent off its three seniors with a solid victory, 64-57, over the Redhawks.
"I'd like to start by thanking God for another victory, which was so need for our team" said Rod Barnes, Head Coach at CSUB. "I thought our guys did a tremendous job right there at the end of the game. We got some stops and played with a lot more confidence than we have been down the stretch. They made a good run. They are a good team, but our guys responded."
Coach Barnes went on to praise redshirt senior Brent Wrapp, CSUB's only four-year letterwinner this season, after the point guard's final home game: "I'm so proud of [Brent]. He has helped us build this program and he deserved tonight to go out with a win. I don't think he's satisfied or done...He's meant a lot to us. He's going to go down in history as one of the most important players that ever played here."
CSUB and Seattle U were neck and neck through much of the first half, which included six ties and six lead changes. The `Runners went on a 10-2 run over the final three and a half minutes of the period to take a 36-27 lead into the locker room.
Six points from junior Rickey Holden catalyzed CSUB's spurt to the end of the half. The guard went to halftime as one of three `Runners – freshman Justin Davis and redshirt junior Damiyne Durham – to have a team-high 10 points. Wrapp, who is hunting down CSUB's all-time career assists record, had five points and five assists at the break.
The Redhawks would not go down without a fight and came out of the locker room swinging. After Davis knocked down a pair of free throws early on in the second half, SU scored nine unanswered points to make the deficit just two points at 38-36. The seventh tie of the game (41-41) came with just under 10 minutes left in the game when Seattle's Richaud Gittens knocked down a three-pointer.
With a little over five minutes left in the game, the Redhawks had all of the momentum and a jumper by Morgan Means gave SU it's largest lead of the game at 52-47. CSUB's defense went into lockdown mode and held the visitors to just five more points for the rest of the game while surging to the 64-57 victory. During the stretch, eight points from Holden and seven points from Davis gave the `Runners the boost they needed to finish the game.
Saturday night's victory saw new bests for three different `Runners. Davis, a native of San Diego, Calif., led all players with a season-high 21 points while finishing one rebound short of a double-double. A juco transfer from Mississippi, Holden also had a season-best 19 points while adding five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Wrapp, who hails from Boulder, Colo., reset his career-high in rebounds with 11 to go with five points and seven assists. Bakersfield's floor general needs just nine more steals to overtake CSUB legend Kenny Warren (1990-94) for the all-time career assists record.
As a team, the `Runners shot 42% from the field and an impressive 53% from behind the arc while limiting the SU offense. The Redhawks were only able to muster a little better than 30% in both categories as the Bakersfield defense held strong behind four blocks from senior center Moataz Aly.
With the win, CSUB improved to 12-16 on the season and 5-8 in WAC play. The `Runners will conclude the regular season next Saturday in a road matchup against Grand Canyon. Seeds for the WAC Tournament are still on the line, so, both teams will give it their all in Phoenix, Ariz.
~GoRunners.com~
