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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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JustinEdlerDavisDD001
David Dennis/All-Star Sports Photography
75
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 6-9,1-4 Big West
83
Winner UC San Diego UCSD 9-11,0-0 Big West
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
6-9,1-4 Big West
75
Final
83
UC San Diego UCSD
9-11,0-0 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 32 43 75
UC San Diego UCSD 43 40 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSUB Comeback Falls Short at UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. – A valiant second-half rally fell just short on Saturday night as the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team suffered a road loss against UC San Diego. The Roadrunners created a stifling defensive effort down the stretch, but UCSD eventually broke through and held on for an 83-75 victory at RIMAC Arena.

Sixth-year senior Justin Edler-Davis shouldered the offensive burden for the `Runners, exploding for his second career double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard David Walker lit up the scoreboard in the second half for CSUB, scoring 17 of his career-high 20 points in the final 20 minutes.

CSUB outrebounded UCSD 38-22 on its home floor and the `Runners tallied 17 second-chance points to zero for the Tritons. The difference in the game came at the free throw line where UCSD went 27-for-32 (.844) compared to just 6-of-8 (.750) for the `Runners.

In the first half, UCSD dared CSUB to shoot the three with a zone defense while knocking down the long ball at an efficient rate on its own offensive end. The Tritons started the game 5-of-7 from three-point range and built up a 13-point lead in the opening 20 minutes.

UCSD closed the half with a 43-32 advantage despite eight points each from Edler-Davis and Cameron Smith for the `Runners. CSUB outrebounded its host 16-11 in the period, but Bakersfield struggled in defensive execution on the way to a halftime deficit.

Bakersfield never let off the gas as defensive intensity ramped up through the entire second half. CSUB's lockdown effort helped the `Runners go on a 16-5 run, holding UCSD to zero field goals over a long stretch, and pulling within four points at 60-56.

Bakersfield continued surging, stifling the UCSD offense all the way to cutting the deficit to just one point, 67-66, on Edler-Davis' fourth three-pointer of the game. The `Runner defense could not hold the Tritons quiet any longer and UCSD pulled back out to a double-digit lead. The host school held off an intense rally from the `Runners for the 83-75 win.

CSUB (6-9, 1-4 Big West) will return to Bakersfield for a few days before heading back out on the road next week to close out its four-game road trip. The `Runners will travel to play Long Beach State on Feb. 3 before wrapping up the road stint on Feb. 5 at Cal State Fullerton.

~GoRunners.com~
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