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CSUB vs Bethesda at Icardo Center
David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
89
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 5-4,1-1 Big West
76
Long Beach St. LBSU 2-3,1-1 Big West
Winner
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
5-4,1-1 Big West
89
Final
76
Long Beach St. LBSU
2-3,1-1 Big West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 46 43 89
Long Beach St. LBSU 35 41 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Bakersfield Downs LBSU For First Big West Victory

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Shaking off a tough, overtime loss on Friday, the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team stormed out to a 19-point lead and earned its first-ever Big West Conference victory Saturday night. Bakersfield defeated Long Beach State on the road, 89-76, behind double-digit scoring efforts from six different Roadrunners.
 
"I thought we had really good practices and preparation leading up to this week," said Rod Barnes, Bakersfield's tenth-year Head Coach. "Our guys realized that this was a historic time and they were a part of it. I thank them, our former players, our administration, and everyone who made this week possible. We get the chance to reap the benefits of a lot of unselfish people and their hard work that let us have the opportunity to play in the Big West."

Barnes added his thoughts on what it took for his squad to rebound from last night's overtime defeat: "I thought our guys did a great job of taking care of the basketball tonight. I'm really pleased with our effort. It's a learning process, even for me, having to play two games back-to-back...We've got to go back and we've got to get more guys playing well to be successful with this schedule."
 
Bakersfield's rebounding ability was a clear advantage throughout the two-game series. The Roadrunners outrebounded the 49ers 47-25 on Saturday night and 97-50 on the weekend. CSUB also enjoyed the upper hand in points in the paint (42-30), second-chance points (19-8), and bench production (30-20) in Game 2.
 
Coach Barnes received another well-rounded offensive effort from his squad as, for the second-consecutive game, six different `Runners tallied 10 points or more. Redshirt senior Justin Edler-Davis led the `Runners in scoring against LBSU with his second-straight 15-point performance while adding six rebounds. Fellow senior Justin McCall posted an outstanding second half on his way to 13 points, eight boards, and two blocks inside Walter Pyramid.

First Half

Bakersfield held a slim advantage for most of the opening period until a late surge widened the gap. The `Runners went on a 15-3 run while building their lead to as many as 13 points with 58 seconds remaining. The push sent CSUB to the locker room with a 46-35 advantage over its host.
 
Following suit from Friday night's rebounding performance, the `Runners doubled the 49ers' effort on the glass in the first period (26-13). A well-balanced offensive effort saw nine different `Runners score in the half, including a team-high 10 points from Edler-Davis. Ronne Readus chipped in six points and seven boards while fellow senior Czar Perry dished out four assists for Bakersfield.

Second Half

The `Runners gradually extended their lead to 19 points at 65-46 just over halfway into the second period on a pair of Edler-Davis free throws. Long Beach State slowly chipped away at Bakersfield lead's over the next eight minutes, cutting the deficit to single digits at 81-72, but CSUB would not let its host get any closer. The `Runners closed out an 89-75 road victory, its first league win in Bakersfield's Big West era.
 
Perry, a point guard out of El Dorado, Ark., finished the evening with 11 points and four assists while Taze Moore, another guard, added 11 points and four rebounds of his own. Fellow seniors Shawn Stith and De'Monte Buckingham each added ten points while Readus finished with eight points and eight boards.
 
The two teams shot nearly even from the field (.463 vs. .456) and three-point range (.353 vs. .350), but Bakersfield's rebounding proved to be the difference. Over the course of the two-game series, CSUB tallied 47 offensive rebounds, an impressive number, especially when compared to LBSU's 50 total rebounds.

Next Week

The `Runners (5-4, 1-1 BWC) will return to Bakersfield and begin preparations for their Big West home opener. On Jan. 8 and 9, CSUB will welcome Cal Poly (2-4, 0-0 BWC) to the Icardo Center for another conference series. Tipoff for both games is set for 7 p.m. in the Icardo Center and the games will be broadcasted live on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.

~GoRunners.com~
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