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CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners vs Bethesda at Icardo Center
David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
44
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 14-9,8-6 Big West
63
Winner UC Santa Barbara UCSB 16-3,10-2 Big West
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
14-9,8-6 Big West
44
Final
63
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
16-3,10-2 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 21 23 44
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 39 24 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Bakersfield Can't Slow Big West Leading UCSB

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team fell behind Big West Conference leader UC Santa Barbara in Saturday night's road game and the Roadrunners were unable to mount a comeback. CSUB (14-9, 8-6 BWC) suffered a 63-44 defeat at the hands of the Gauchos (16-3, 10-2 BWC) as the host team earned its 12th-consecutive victory.

With the loss, CSUB drops to fourth place in the Big West standings on winning percentage. Bakersfield trails UCSB, UC Irvine (12-8, 8-4 BWC), and UC Riverside (10-6, 5-3 BWC). The `Runners have a narrow lead over Long Beach State (5-7, 4-4 BWC) and UC Davis (6-6, 3-3 BWC) heading into Bakersfield's final week of the regular season.

First Half

Continuing right where they left off on Friday night, the Gauchos drained three early three-pointers on their way to a 14-2 lead over the `Runners. UCSB used a 10-0 run to lead by as many as 21 points in the first half, 37-16, with Bakersfield unable to find its offensive rhythm. CSUB went into the halftime break trailing the host Gauchos 39-21.

Bakersfield committed seven turnovers and the Gauchos scored 11 points on turnovers in the period. UCSB converted on 55 percent of its field goal attempts compared to just 36 percent for CSUB. De'Monte Buckingham paced the `Runners with four points, four rebounds, a block and an assist in the first half.

Second Half

Bakersfield found an offensive spark midway through the second half, riding an 8-2 run to pull within 13 points at 45-32. UCSB trickled its lead out to 24 points on a 63-39 lead with just over six minutes left on the clock. The `Runners held the Gauchos scoreless over the final six minutes and twenty seconds, but CSUB was unable to mount another comeback and Bakersfield dropped Game 2 of the series, 63-44.

Ronne Readus, a senior center, tallied eight points and ten rebounds in just 19 minutes for the `Runners. Shaun Williams scored nine points while Grehlon Easter chipped in eight points of his own. Buckingham wrapped up the game with four points, four rebounds, three assists, and a block.

UCSB's Miles Norris went off for a career high 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Remarkably, the Gauchos assisted on all 20 of their field goals Saturday night.

Next Week

The `Runners will return to Bakersfield to prepare for their final two regular season games. CSUB is set to host CSUN (8-9, 4-6 BWC) in the Icardo Center, Feb. 26-27, before enjoying a bye week prior to the Big West Basketball Championships in March.

~GoRunners.com~
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