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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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JustinMcCallMD004
Mark Duffel
54
UC Santa Cruz UCSC Exhibition
81
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 15-6
UC Santa Cruz UCSC
Exhibition
54
Final
81
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
15-6
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Santa Cruz UCSC 27 27 54
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 42 39 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSUB Cruises Past UC Santa Cruz for 9-0 Home Record



BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – In front of a huge crowd in the Icardo Center, the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team used smothering defense and a deep bench to cruise to an 81-54 victory over UC Santa Cruz Tuesday night. With the victory, the Roadrunners improved to 9-0 on the Kern Schools Court this season and tallied their fourth-straight win overall.

Over 3,200 fans came out to cheer on the `Runners and they were treated to a full assortment of festivities including Head Coach Rod Barnes and some of his squad speaking about their faith after the game for Faith and Family Night. The Icardo Center also hosted the largest crowd ever for President's Spirit Night as CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny honored former staff of the school paper, The Runner, and presented Dignity Health's Robin Mangarin-Scott with the President's Spirit Award.

On the court, the `Runners jumped out to an 11-0 lead over UCSC in the opening five minutes of the game with senior Rickey Holden's jumper capping the big run. The Banana Slugs rallied for four-straight points, but Damiyne Durham's 301st career three-pointer put CSUB ahead 17-8 with 11:25 left in the half.

At the 5:53 mark, sophomore Jarkel Joiner got into the paint and converted a layup to finish off an 8-0 run that put CSUB ahead 30-15. UCSC was able to cut the deficit to just 10 points with about 80 seconds left in the half, but Justin Edler-Davis converted a three-point play and Joiner got a fastbreak layup to close the half with a 42-27 advantage.

In the opening period, Edler-Davis led all `Runners with eight points to go with two steals. Bakersfield got seven points out of Joiner and fellow sophomore Justin McCall, who also had three rebounds and a block. The `Runners forced the Banana Slugs to make 10 turnovers in the first half while CSUB scored 11 points off of those defense-created opportunities.

CSUB continued to cruise in the second period, making a 10-0 run to go ahead 55-30 just four minutes into the half. The `Runners were able to go deep into their bench and received quality minutes up and down the lineup. Junior Kevin McNeal knocked down a jumper with just over 10 minutes left to put CSUB ahead 65-37 while junior Darius Williams was active on the boards.

Bray Barnes came into the game and assisted Durham a fellow redshirt senior on a three-pointer before burying a trey of his own. Barnes' triple gave the `Runners their biggest lead of the night, 74-42, with 6:18 remaining in the game. After that basket, the Banana Slugs never got closer than 26 points as CSUB finished strong to take an 81-54 victory in Bakersfield.

Durham came on strong in the second half, converting a trio of three-pointers on his way to a team-high 12 points. CSUB enjoyed double-digit scoring from five different `Runners including 11 points each from Joiner, Holden, and McCall, the latter of whom tallied a career-high on Tuesday.

Williams, a native of Newark, N.J., recorded six points, four rebounds, two assists, and two assists in 15 minutes off the bench. Redshirt freshman and Bakersfield native Jeremiah Dickerson played 15 minutes as well, posting a career-high four assists. Compton, Calif. native Cartrell Thompson chipped in a pair of points, a pair of rebounds, and a block in the victory.

CSUB held UC Santa Cruz to 41% shooting from the field on Tuesday night while forcing 21 turnovers, third-most this year. The `Runners won the battle of the paint, 32-14, thanks to a 40-26 advantage on the glass.

Bakersfield, just one of 34 NCAA Division I teams that entered Tuesday with an unbeaten record at home, improved to 9-0 in the Icardo Center. The `Runners will have their toughest home test of the season on Saturday when Grand Canyon comes to town. CSUB is tied with GCU for first place in the WAC standings and Bakersfield will be battling to stay spotless at home and on top of the leaderboard.

Tickets for Saturday's contest are nearly sold out, but fans still have some time to get in the door. CSUB Athletics encourages fans to call 661-654-BLUE or visit this website to get tickets ahead of time as a potential sellout is looming.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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