Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

Next Event

JustinMcCallNE05
Nick Ellis
69
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 6-14,1-9 Big West
79
Winner UC Riverside UCR 13-9,6-4 Big West
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
6-14,1-9 Big West
69
Final
79
UC Riverside UCR
13-9,6-4 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 25 44 69
UC Riverside UCR 36 43 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

McCall's Big Game Not Enough at UC Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In another close fight that saw the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team battling against UC Riverside for a Big West Conference road win, the Roadrunners came up just short on Thursday night. CSUB dropped a 79-69 loss in Riverside despite a huge effort from `Runner forward Justin McCall.

A fifth-year `Runner from Bakersfield, McCall tallied a season-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds against UCR. In the process, McCall became just the 14th `Runner in CSUB men's basketball history to record 750 points and 400 rebounds in a career.

Despite McCall's gargantuan performance, Bakersfield could not complete the comeback on the road as the home team shot lights out from three-point range. UC Riverside converted on 9-of-20 three-pointers while the `Runners went 1-for-9 from behind the arc.

After a slow start in the first half, UCR surged ahead to an 18-8 lead halfway through the period. The Highlanders reached their biggest lead of the half, 28-17, with just over four minutes remaining and the host team went to the locker room with a 36-25 advantage.

CSUB struggled to defend the three-point shot in the first half as UCR converted on 6-of-13 attempts from behind the arc. On the opposite end of the floor, the `Runners made just 35 percent of their field goal attempts. The bright spot for CSUB was a spark from forward Antavion Collum, who tallied seven points in nine quality minutes in the opening period.

The Highlanders pulled ahead 55-40 early in the second half for its biggest lead of the game, but Bakersfield would respond with a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to single digits. The `Runners danced around a 10-point deficit for much of the second half with UCR fending off CSUB's advances as the home team held on for the 10-point victory.

Freshman guard Dalph Panopio added seven points, four rebounds, and three assists while fellow guard Grehlon Easter tallied a career-high five assists. Collum finished the game with a career-high 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

CSUB (6-14, 1-9 Big West) will head north for its next pit stop on this four-game road trip. The `Runners are set to square off against UC Davis on Saturday, Feb. 19, with tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m. (PT) on ESPN+.

~GoRunners.com~
Print Friendly Version
California State University at Bakersfield Athletics loading logo