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California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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Big West Conference
47
CSUN CSUN 7-25,4-16 Big West
51
Winner CSU Bakersfield CSUB 11-21,6-14 Big West
CSUN CSUN
7-25,4-16 Big West
47
Final
51
CSU Bakersfield CSUB
11-21,6-14 Big West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CSUN CSUN 26 21 47
CSU Bakersfield CSUB 24 27 51

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

CSUB Downs CSUN, Advances to Big West Quarterfinals

HENDERSON, Nev. – For the second-straight season, the Cal State Bakersfield men's basketball team opened the Big West Championship with a gritty, first-round victory. The Roadrunners have also now eliminated the CSUN Matadors in back-to-back tournaments after Tuesday evening's 51-47 win in the Dollar Loan Center.

Notables
  • Bakersfield and CSUN played to seven lead changes in a back-and-forth second half, but the `Runners gained a narrow advantage late and held on for the victory.
  • The CSUB offense was led by forwards Antavion Collum (16), Travis Henson (11), and Cameron Smith (10), who each tallied double-digit scoring efforts while contributing on both ends of the court.
  • Sophomore guard Ivan Reynolds posted six points, six assists, and seven rebounds on the night. Equally as important was Reynolds' defensive assignment in which he limited CSUN's top scorer, Atin Wright, to 10 points on 3-of-17 shooting.
  • The Matadors led  the `Runners by two points at halftime, but the Bakersfield defense held its opponent to 22% shooting in the second half.
Quotes


Next on the Schedule
  • Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands
  • Quarterfinals vs. top-seeded UC Irvine
  • Henderson, Nev. / Dollar Loan Center
  • Thursday, Mar. 9, at noon (PT)
  • CSUB's full schedule at the Big West Championship available at GoRunners.com/MBB
  • Tickets for the Big West Basketball Championship are available now. Visit GoRunners.com/Tickets or call 661-654-BLUE or 661-654-GOLD for more information.
First Half
  • Bakersfield sprinted ahead with a 7-0 run to take a 13-6 advantage just over six minutes into the game.
  • The `Runners led for 17 minutes in the first half, but a late, 12-3 CSUN run saw the Matadors take a 26-24 lead to the locker room.
  • Collum led all players with nine points at the break.
  • The `Runners converted just 30% of their field goal attempts in the first half, including a 1-for-8 effort from behind the arc.
Second Half
  • CSUB briefly regained the lead at the start of the period, but the Matadors responded with a 7-0 run to go ahead 33-27.
  • The two teams traded leads seven times in the second half, including the final time with 4:07 on the clock when Naseem Gaskin's putback layup gave Bakersfield a 44-42 advantage.
  • CSUN tied the score at 44, but CSUB regained the advantage and the `Runners hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch to seal the 51-47 victory.
Scouting the Anteaters
  • The `Runners advance to the Big West Championship Quarterfinals on Thursday and will face a very familiar foe in No. 1 seed UC Irvine (22-10, 15-5 BW).
  • CSUB closed out the regular season against the Anteaters on Saturday, Mar. 4, meaning that the two teams will be meeting on Thursday afternoon for the second time in five days.
  • UCI swept the regular-season series against the `Runners, but Bakersfield dropped narrow decisions (79-75 in December and 52-44 last weekend).
  • The Anteaters and `Runners will be meeting for the 13th time in the all-time series. Irvine leads the series 9-3.
 ~GoRunners.com~
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