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TazeMooreDD11
David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
71
Utah Valley UVU 11-6, 0-2 WAC
73
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 10-5, 2-0 WAC
Utah Valley UVU
11-6, 0-2 WAC
71
Final
73
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
10-5, 2-0 WAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Utah Valley UVU 32 39 71
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 37 36 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Moore's Buzzer-Beater Lifts CSUB Over UVU



BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A wild finish sent nearly 2,700 fans into a frenzy on Saturday night as CSU Bakersfield's men's basketball team pulled off a buzzer-beating stunner against Western Athletic Conference foe Utah Valley. With 4.3 seconds left on the clock, a Roadrunner three-pointer was just off the mark, but redshirt sophomore Taze Moore grabbed a rebound and kissed a fadeaway floater off the glass to lift CSUB over the Wolverines, 73-71.

"We know that Taze is one of our best offensive rebounders," said Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the `Runners, while describing the play of the night. "We ran a cross for him and Justin Edler-Davis did a great job of keeping the ball alive. Darrin Person Jr. got a hand on it and Taze finished."

Barnes went on to explain the importance of the strong start to WAC play for his `Runners: "I'm so proud of our team. We had a tough loss at the beginning of the week against Gonzaga and it showed great character to come back and beat two of the better teams in our league and do all of that in one week. Down the stretch, I thought our defense really stepped up. I'm excited about our team. They are a really close-knit group with great chemistry."

With the victory, CSUB improved to 6-0 in the Icardo Center this season and has now won seven of its last eight games. Bakersfield's only loss in that span was on that road at Gonzaga, which was ranked No. 7 in the nation. The `Runners have also started WAC play with a 2-0 record, tied with Grand Canyon for the league lead.

The opening minutes of the contest were slow with both teams probing the waters on CSUB's blue Kern Schools Court. Utah Valley used a trio of three-pointers to jump out to an 11-2 lead five and a half minutes into the opening period. Determined to protect their home court, the `Runners responded with a 13-2 run, tightening up the game.

For the next nine minutes, the two teams would not be separated by more than five points, but a late run by Bakersfield gave the home team big momentum heading into halftime. The `Runners jumped out to a seven-point lead with 100 seconds left in the first half and took a 37-32 lead into the locker room.

In the opening 20 minutes, Moore's 10 points led all student-athletes while senior Rickey Holden added nine points, two rebounds, and two assists. Redshirt sophomore Justin Edler-Davis had five points, six rebounds, and two steals to help the `Runners lead at the break.

CSUB rolled its momentum gained in the first half right into the next, going ahead of UVU, 45-34, just over a minute into the second period. The `Runners and Wolverines traded points for the next four minutes until a 5-0 run gave Bakersfield its biggest lead of the night at 53-40. From there, Utah Valley began to slowly chip away at CSUB's lead, drawing within three points just three minutes later.

A back and forth battled ensued with UVU slowly digging into Bakersfield's slim advantage. With a pair of free throws, the Wolverines tied the game at 67 with three and a half minutes left in the game. The `Runners were holding on to a one-point lead when Moore went to the line and sunk a pair of free throws, making the native of Southaven, Miss. a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe on Saturday.

With 19 seconds left on the clock, the Wolverines quieted Bakersfield's rowdy crowd with a three-pointer to tie the game at 71-71. The wildness was not yet over as CSUB's attempt at a go-ahead basket with seven seconds left was off the mark. After a UVU timeout, the Wolverines failed to inbound the ball, mistakenly throwing it off their own backboard and setting Bakersfield up with its own chance at the game winner.

Only 4.3 seconds remained on the clock, but it was enough for the `Runners. Sophomore Jarkel Joiner was nearly the hero of the night as his three-pointer on the inbounds went in and out, hitting the rim twice. Edler-Davis and Person Jr. both crashed for the board and helped the ball find its way to Moore, who corralled it on the low block and faded out of the paint with his shot. The ball left Moore's finger tips with just a few tenths of a second left on the clock, kissed the glass, and went in after time expired, giving the `Runners an epic victory.

While Moore's last-second bucket was a major contribution, the guard tied for the team lead of 16 points while adding four rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes off the bench. Holden equaled Moore's 16 points and added a game-high six assists. Edler-Davis finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while redshirt senior Damiyne Durham scored 10 points in a historic night for the guard.

Durham came into Saturday night's contest tied for the WAC's all-time record for career three-pointers made with 290. The native of Oakwood, Texas went 2-for-5 from behind the arc against UVU, passing Utah State's Jaycee Carroll (2004-08) to stand alone atop the list of the WAC's all-time great sharpshooters.

As a team, the `Runners used another strong defensive performance to earn the victory, outscoring their foes 26-7 on points from turnovers. Bakersfield forced UVU, one of the most fundamentally sound teams in the conference, to commit 17 turnovers. Offensively, the `Runners converted on 44.4% of their field goals and 43.5% of their three-pointers on the way to a big victory.

Bakersfield (10-5, 2-0 WAC) will leave the comforts of the Icardo Center next week for a pair of WAC road games. The `Runners are set to take on UT Rio Grande Valley (9-8, 1-0  WAC) on Thursday in Edinburg, Texas before facing defending WAC Champion NM State (11-4, 0-1 WAC) in Las Cruces, N.M. on Saturday.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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