`Runners Prepared For Road Swing At UC Riverside

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team (9-4, 5-1 BWC) is looking to keep its hot start rolling as the Roadrunners are preparing for another pair of Big West Conference road games this weekend. CSUB will travel to Riverside, Calif., Jan. 22-23, to tackle UC Riverside in the SRC Arena.

Bakersfield is riding the momentum of a five-game win streak after sweeping Cal Poly at home two weeks ago and sweeping Hawai'i on the road last weekend.

"When you can go on the road and win two games, anytime during the year against anyone, it's really huge," said Head Coach Rod Barnes, who is in his tenth season at CSUB. "It's so tough to win on the road, at other peoples' home courts, and to do that against a very talented [Hawai'i] team and a team that has traditionally won a bunch of home games, especially conference home games, that says something about our team and their focus. It was huge for us."

When asked if he thought the hot start solidified his team as a "serious contender" for the league title, Barnes was quick to temper expectations: "No, I don't. [The Big West] is a good league, it's a very balanced league. It has proved that over the years...I think we have put ourselves in a really good position, but there is a lot of work yet to be done and a lot of games to be played, but we are off to a good start.

UC Riverside (6-3, 3-1 BWC) has enjoyed a strong start to its season as well and the Highlanders will be ready to challenge Bakersfield this weekend. UCR excels in both rebounding and scoring defense, two statistical categories in which the `Runners have ranked among the nation's leaders all season.

The Highlanders have some momentum of their own going after sweeping Cal Poly on the road last weekend. UCR has also won three of its last four contests with the only defeat in that span an overtime, road loss against USC.

A 4 p.m. tipoff will start both Friday's and Saturday's games in Riverside. Fans can follow along with live stream broadcasts via BigWest.TV, radio broadcasts from Roadrunner Sports Properties, live stats, and live updates @CSUB_MBB on Twitter. Links to all of these options are available at GoRunners.com/mbbLinks.

~GoRunners.com~

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