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TazeMooreDD001
David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
47
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 0-1,0-0 Big West
53
Winner Santa Clara SCU 4-0,0-0 WCC
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
0-1,0-0 Big West
47
Final
53
Santa Clara SCU
4-0,0-0 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 11 36 47
Santa Clara SCU 15 38 53

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

`Runners Ignite In Second Half But Fall In Opener

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – A slow first half made way for an up-tempo second period in CSU Bakersfield's men's basketball season opener Wednesday night as the Roadrunners battled the undefeated Santa Clara Broncos. Bakersfield put together a strong push in the second half, but the host Broncos (4-0) held off CSUB's advances to seal a 53-47 victory.

With the first-half rust shaken off, both teams heated up in the second half. The `Runners looked to redshirt senior Taze Moore to provide the spark as the native of Southaven, Miss. finished the 2020-21 season's first contest with team highs of eight points and four assists. Fellow senior Justin McCall chipped in all seven of his points in the second half to go with a pair of rebounds and a block. SCU's Josip Vrankic, who came into the game averaging 21.3 points a contest, led the Broncos with 11 points against CSUB.

Bakersfield enjoyed an even distribution on the offensive front with nine of the 12 `Runners who entered the game finding their way onto the scoreboard. Four new `Runners --Travis Henson, Cameron Smith, Grehlon Easter, and Ray Somerville -- all made their CSUB debuts Wednesday night in Santa Cruz with Easter chipping in six points, three boards, and three assists.

First Half

A 9-0 run by the host Broncos helped Santa Clara take an early, 13-4 lead over the `Runners. The middle of the first period ground to a halt with both teams locking each other down on the defensive ends. While CSUB struggled to break its scoring drought, the `Runners stayed in the game by holding the Broncos to just five points over the final 14:17 of the half. Senior Czar Perry and Shawn Stith each got fouled going to the rim and both sank a pair of free throws to pull CSUB within four points, 11-15, heading into the halftime break.

Despite experiencing offensive woes to start the new season, Bakersfield's defense held strong against an already-tested Santa Clara squad. The `Runners outrebounded the Broncos 24-17 in the period and enjoyed Perry's team-high four points leading the way. Redshirt senior Justin Edler-Davis pulled down five rebounds for Bakersfield.

Second Half

With both teams enjoying a better offensive rhythm, the second half started rolling as the squads began trading baskets. After Easter, a junior college transfer, brought the `Runners within four points on a long two-pointer, Santa Clara used a 5-0 run to go ahead 29-20 with 13 minutes to play.

The Broncos slowly extended their lead to as many as 14 points with 8:16 left on the clock, but the `Runners hung around thanks to seven second-half points from McCall. A posterizing dunk by Moore followed by a 3-point play from Stith got the `Runner momentum rolling once again. CSUB turned that energy into a 13-4 run, pulling itself within four points with four minutes left in the game.

Bakersfield's comeback attempt simply ran out of time as Santa Clara held on for the six-point victory. The `Runners finished the game with a 38-30 advantage in rebounds and an 11-6 advantage in assists. CSUB shot 45% from the field in the second period thanks to a much-improved offensive performance.

Next Game

The `Runners (0-1) will return to Bakersfield and prepare for their Dec. 7 home opener. CSUB is scheduled to host Bethesda University at the Icardo Center with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday night. Due to COVID-19 health regulations, CSUB is unable to welcome fans into the Icardo Center at this time, but all of Bakersfield's home games this season, once again, will be streamed live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

~GoRunners.com~
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