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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
71
Seattle U SU 12-4, 0-1 WAC
83
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 9-5, 1-0 WAC
Seattle U SU
12-4, 0-1 WAC
71
Final
83
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
9-5, 1-0 WAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Seattle U SU 27 44 71
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 37 46 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSUB Cruises To Win Over Seattle U In WAC Opener



BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Western Athletic Conference play got off to a great start for CSU Bakersfield's men's basketball team, which defeated a red-hot Seattle U squad in the Icardo Center Thursday night. The Roadrunners earned a 10-point halftime lead, then increased it to as much as 24 points en route to 83-71 victory over the Redhawks.

"I'm really proud of our team," said Rod Barnes, CSUB's eighth-year head coach. "Seattle has a really good basketball team. I was really concerned about this game because they have been on a roll and playing well. We just came off a tough loss at Gonzaga, but our guys have really focused of the last couple of days."

Barnes continued on to talk about the importance of Thursday night's victory, which improved CSUB's record in the Icardo Center to 5-0 this season: "Every game you can get in conference play is a huge win and you definitely want to protect your home court. I thought we did a really good job of that tonight."

After a tie at 6-6, the `Runners regained the lead and never gave it back to the Redhawks. A pair of Jarkel Joiner free throws put CSUB ahead of Seattle U, 31-20, with just over three minutes left in the first half and the `Runners went to the locker room with a 37-27 advantage.

Hot off the bench, redshirt senior Damiyne Durham drained a trio of three-pointers on the way to 11 first-half points. Joiner, a sophomore from Oxford, Miss., added 10 points in the period while senior Rickey Holden contributed four points and four assists.

The first half featured one of Bakersfield's best 20 minutes of the season on the defensive end. CSUB tallied five steals and five blocks while forcing the Redhawks to commit 10 turnovers. The `Runners also held SU to just 30.8% shooting from the field in the opening period while converting on 52% of their own field goals.

The score margin wavered around 14 points for much of the second half and the `Runners found themselves leading 65-51 with 7:52 left on the clock. From there, a 6-0 run, with all six points coming from redshirt freshman Darrin Person Jr., helped Bakersfield open the gap and put the game out of reach.

A jumper by Taze Moore with three minutes left gave CSUB its largest lead at 81-57. Bakersfield led by 18 with 80 seconds left in the game before a pair of late Seattle U three-pointers gave the two teams a final score of 83-71.

Person Jr., a Fresno, Calif. native, exploded for eight second-half points on his way to a career-high 10 points on Thursday night. His late surge was the catalyst the `Runners needed to seal the victory while Durham's game-high 20 points was the source of Bakersfield's early success. Joiner finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists in a well-rounded effort and Holden wrapped up the night with seven points, seven assists, and two steals.

CSUB shot 52.5% from the field in the game compared to SU's 39.2%. The `Runners out-rebounded the Redhawks 37-30, out-blocked them 9-2, and recorded nine steals to their three in a defensive swarm.

With the victory, Bakersfield (9-5, 1-0 WAC) started league play on the right foot and will take that momentum into Saturday night's home game. The `Runners will square off with Utah Valley (11-5, 0-1 WAC), which suffered a road loss at Grand Canyon on Thursday. Saturday's tipoff in the Icardo Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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