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ShawnStithNE07
Nick Ellis

Men's Basketball

`Runners Prepare to Host Chicago State, Kansas City



BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The second half of Western Athletic Conference play is underway as the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team looks to finish strong with momentum heading into the WAC Tournament. The Roadrunners are preparing to host a pair of games at the Icardo Center as Chicago State comes to town on Thursday, Feb. 13, followed by Kansas City on Saturday, Feb. 15.

"It's always good to get back home," said Rod Barnes, Head Coach of the `Runners. "It's really important for us to get back. We had some tough road trips, but I thought our team got better…We've had some really intense, very energetic practices with really good focus. Now to come off those kind of practices and be here at home is really good for us."

Chicago State (4-21, 0-10 WAC) will head to Bakersfield after taking a pair of home losses to two of the WAC's top teams last week. When CSUB went to Chicago in January, the `Runners cruised to a 72-54 victory behind 19 points each from Greg Lee and Cam Allen. With that win, Bakersfield's record against CSU improved to 13-2 all-time and the `Runners have won 13-straight against the Cougars.

Kansas City (12-13, 4-6 WAC) suffered a pair of losses against UTRGV and NM State last week including a tight battle with the Aggies. Last month in Missouri, the `Runners knocked off the Roos thanks to an overtime explosion from redshirt junior Justin Edler-Davis and a strong game from fellow co-catain De'Monte Buckingham. CSUB surged for a 74-64 road victory and the team will ride that confidence into this weekend's contest.

The `Runners got big games out of Edler-Davis and De'Monte Buckingham against Kansas City while Lee and Allen went off in Chicago. When asked about who to expect to lead the way this week, Barnes pointed to his whole squad to contribute: "Sometimes matchups play a key into the games. I do think, for different teams, guys play well because of style of play…We would look for [those guys] to play well because they had success last time and we hope they would do the same thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if some other guys stepped in and helped."

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Icardo Center for both games this week. Thursday's game against the Cougars is the WAC Spotlight Game and will be broadcasted via ESPN+. The `Runners will be back on WatchESPN/ESPN3 on Saturday against the Roos. Links to all broadcasts, video and audio, as well as live stats are available on the CSUB men's basketball schedule page.

A special ticketing promotion is available for Saturday's game as CSUB hosts its annual Community College Night. Any student or staff with a valid community college ID can get into the game for free (at the door only). Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time for both contests at GoRunners.com/tickets or on game day at the box office.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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Players Mentioned

De

#13 De'Monte Buckingham

G
6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
Justin Edler-Davis

#10 Justin Edler-Davis

G/F
6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
Greg Lee

#21 Greg Lee

F
6' 9"
Redshirt Junior
Cam Allen

#3 Cam Allen

G
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

De

#13 De'Monte Buckingham

6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
G
Justin Edler-Davis

#10 Justin Edler-Davis

6' 4"
Redshirt Junior
G/F
Greg Lee

#21 Greg Lee

6' 9"
Redshirt Junior
F
Cam Allen

#3 Cam Allen

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
G
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