CSUB Men to Host UC Davis Before Trip to Hawai'i

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – After a two-game road trip, the Roadrunner men's basketball team has returned to defend the Icardo Center on Thursday before heading back out. CSU Bakersfield will host a rematch against UC Davis in a couple days before getting its first look of the season at Hawai'i on Saturday.

Upcoming Schedule

vs. UC Davis, Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m. (PT)
- Replica Gold Jersey giveaway
- Free for first 500 fans (all CSUB students will get jerseys, while supplies last)
at Hawai'i, Saturday, Jan. 28, 9 p.m. (PT)

How to Follow the `Runners

Single-game Tickets and Season Tickets are still available. Visit GoRunners.com/Tickets or call 661-654-BLUE or 661-654-GOLD for more information.
Fans who cannot attend the games in person can watch the live broadcasts on ESPN+.
Links for video, live stats, tickets, and more are available at GoRunners.com/Live.
Live updates will be shared during games on Twitter @CSUB_MBB.

`Runner Notes

Bakersfield (6-13, 2-6 BW) dropped a pair of Big West road games last week, including Saturday night's loss at Big West leader UC Santa Barbara (16-3, 7-1 BW).
CSUB continues to adjust to playing without point guard and leading scorer Kaleb Higgins, who went down with a season-ending injury near the beginning of January.
The Roadrunners also had to battle UCSB without their pair of Lithuanian towers, Modestas Kancleris and Ugnius Jarusevicius, who were both out with injuries.
`Runner senior Cameron Smith stepped up with a huge career high of 27 points at UCSB on Saturday.

Quotes from Head Coach Rod Barnes

"This hasn't been a pleasant ride," Barnes said about the team's recent injury woes. "Especially in this particular point in the season. It's not just because we are losing a guy, but we have had to put guys in positions that they haven't played for us."
"Our guys are in a good frame of mind. We hope to have Dalph Panopio back this week...From this particular point, we just have to try to play good basketball with the guys that we got. To do that, we're going to have to go back to the fundamentals."
On the rematch against UC Davis: "They are a good team. They've got one of the best players in our league [Elijah Pepper]. They play an up-tempo style. I thought, up there, when we controlled the game, we were in the game. When the game got to be fast paced, they just took control of the game."

Scouting the Aggies

UC Davis (12-8, 5-3 BW) will come to Bakersfield to play a rematch of the game in Davis on Jan. 7.
When these two teams met at the beginning of the month, UC Davis jumped out to quick starts in both halves on the way to a convincing, 67-48 victory over the `Runners.
Junior guard Elijah Pepper is the top scorer in the Big West this season, averaging 19.2 points a contest. A few weeks ago, the `Runners limited the explosive scorer to just two points on 1-of-5 shooting, but the Aggies still prevailed.
UC Davis and CSUB's all-time series dates back to Bakersfield's earliest seasons around 50 years ago. The `Runners hold a 28-15 advantage in the series, but the Aggies have won five-straight games against Cal State Bakersfield.
The Aggies are coming off a busy week in which they played three Big West games over six days, going 2-1 on the week.

Scouting the Rainbow Warriors

Hawai'i (15-5, 6-2 BW) is jockeying for position among the Top 5 in the Big West.
The Rainbow Warriors have won 10 of their last 12 contests coming into this week.
Hawai'i has enjoyed a uniquely steady lineup with the same five men starting in all 20 games so far this season.
All five of those Warriors average at least 9.8 points per game with Noel Coleman (14.2) leading the way.
CSUB and UH are in the early stages of their all-time series. This week's game will be just the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs with Hawai'i owning a narrow, 3-2 edge in the series.
Last year, the Rainbow Warriors took both regular season games from the `Runners by an average margin of 13.0 points a victory.

~GoRunners.com~

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Players Mentioned

#3 Dalph Panopio: G; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#22 Cameron Smith: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#3 Dalph Panopio
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: G

#22 Cameron Smith
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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CSUB Men to Host UC Davis Before Trip to Hawai'i

Players Mentioned

#3 Dalph Panopio

#22 Cameron Smith

Players Mentioned

#3 Dalph Panopio

#22 Cameron Smith