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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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GregLeeAS01
70
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 18-15, 7-9 WAC
67
Southern Utah SUU 17-17, 9-11 BSC
Winner
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
18-15, 7-9 WAC
70
Final
67
Southern Utah SUU
17-17, 9-11 BSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 25 45 70
Southern Utah SUU 23 44 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSUB Advances to CIT Quarterfinals with Road Win at SUU



CEDAR CITY, Utah – CSU Bakersfield's men's basketball team led for nearly 30 minutes in Monday night's CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) game and the Roadrunners outlasted Southern Utah on the road for a 70-67 victory. With the win, CSUB advances to the CIT quarterfinals and is the only Western Athletic Conference team still alive in postseason play.

Bakersfield improved its record to 18-15, posting the third-most single-season wins in its NCAA Division I era. The `Runners are headed to the quarterfinals, but will not know the opponent, location, or date until after Tuesday night's game between Green Bay and Florida International. If Green Bay wins, the `Runners will head to Wisconsin for a road game on Friday, but if FIU wins, CSUB will host FIU in the Icardo Center on Saturday.

The `Runners got off to a cold start in Utah, missing the mark on all but one of their first 13 field goals of the game. CSUB battled to stay in the game, using defensive effort to create offense, and took its first lead of the game at 12-10 on Greg Lee's three-pointer with just over 10 minutes elapsed.

CSUB extended its lead out to as many as eight points at 25-17 on back-to-back buckets from Justin McCall and Lee. The Thunderbirds did not allow Bakersfield's lead to get out of hand as SUU scored the final six points of the half, including Brandon Better's three-pointer with two seconds left on the clock.

The `Runners led 25-23 at the half thanks to nine first-half points from Lee. The redshirt sophomore forward hit four of his five shots while also pulling down four rebounds. While the `Runners struggled on the offensive end, CSUB's defense forced eight SUU turnovers and held the Thunderbirds to 30% shooting from the field in the opening period.

The second half remained tight with neither team making a big enough run to pull away. Another three-pointer from SUU's Better pulled the Thunderbirds within two points at 37-33, but senior Rickey Holden answered with a transition layup on the other end. CSUB led by six points at 47-41, but SUU stayed an arm's length away for the rest of the half.

Lee fouled out of the game with 6:40 left in the game, exiting with 15 points, the most for the redshirt sophomore since he scored 16 versus Grand Canyon on Feb. 2. The `Runners needed an offensive spark and got it from another redshirt sophomore, Taze Moore. The guard converted a pair of and-1 opportunities, the second of which came with just under 5 minutes remaining to give CSUB a 55-48 lead.

Holden knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 36 seconds remaining, putting the `Runners ahead of the Thunderbirds, 67-59. SUU would not go down without a fight, hitting a quick three-pointer and getting a steal on the ensuing inbounds play. With CSUB leading by two points with 21 seconds left, Holden broke the SUU press and found redshirt senior James Suber wide open for a dunk.

A controversial foul on an SUU three-pointer sent the Thunderbirds to the line with 7.4 seconds left, but Better, who led SUU with 20 points, hit just two of the three and McCall was fouled pulling down a rebound. The forward hit one of two free throws to put the `Runners up 70-67 with 2.5 seconds left. SUU had a last-chance, desperation heave from 28 feet out, but it completely missed the rim and CSUB held on for the victory.

Sophomore Jarkel Joiner heated up in the second half for 12 points while Holden (8), Moore (8), and McCall (7) all chipped in on the offensive end. Despite fouling out in the middle of the second half, Lee led all `Runners with 15 points. CSUB got at least two points from all 10 `Runners who played on Monday night.

CSUB outscored Southern Utah 30-14 in the paint while Bakersfield outrebounded SUU by two. The Thunderbirds enjoyed 48 shots from the free throw line and converted on 33 of them for a 68% clip. Bakersfield, on the other hand, made 14-of-21 free throws (67%) in the America First Event Center. The `Runners hit 43% of their field goals while holding the Thunderbirds to just 36% on the night.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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