BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Trailing by as many as 23 points five minutes into the second half of Saturday night’s Big West clash with CSUN, the Cal State Bakersfield men’s basketball team was on track to suffer a disappointing loss in front of its home crowd. But Head Coach Rod Barnes, junior guard Jemel Jones, and the Roadrunners had other plans.

CSUB struggled to slow the Matador offense in the first half, but Barnes’ defensive adjustments in the locker room completely derailed their guest's momentum. Jones, who had 14 points at halftime, smelled blood in the water and went on to break CSUB’s all-time record with 45 points on the night, guiding the `Runners to a thrilling, 94-90 victory over CSUN.

“That felt good, just anything to get the win for the team,” Jones said when asked about his stellar performance. “When we win as a group, everybody’s value goes up…I think this was a big win for us, definitely some momentum to get us going on the road, but I don’t think we done, we not done.”

The 2024 NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year at South Suburban College, Jones has proved he can score at the next level by leading CSUB in scoring this season at 15.9 points per game…but that was coming into tonight’s offensive outburst.

Jones scored 45 points on 13-of-22 shooting (6-of-11 3FG) while hitting 13 of his 16 free throws. The guard from Chicago surpassed CSUB legend Kenny Warren’s former school record of 40 points (3/12/93) while Jones’ mark is the second-highest scoring total by any NCAA Division I men’s basketball player so far this season (49 by Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, 11/6/24).

“We brought [Jemel] here for this reason [to score]”, Barnes said. “I’ve been saying that if our bench plays better, we’re going to become a better team and I think tonight, and even the other night in the loss to Santa Barbara, I thought ‘these guys are kind of getting it’. Our bench was huge for us tonight and obviously Jemel was special.”

Jaden Alexander contributed 16 points for the `Runners while Bakersfield native Kadar Waller chipped in 11 points in the win. Marvin McGhee III added nine points while his brother, Marvin McGhee IV, tallied eight as Bakersfield's deep bench contributed to an all-around effort and team win.

Trailing 63-41 with 15 minutes to play, the `Runners began chipping away at CSUN's advantage. Bakersfield put together a 29-6 run over a span of about eight minutes, capped by a Waller scoop and score that put the `Runners ahead 72-71. Jones scored 12 of his team's points in that spurt, catalyzing the game-defining run.

From there, it was a tug-of-war battle with CSUB keeping a miniscule lead all the way down the stretch. A pair of CSUN free throws tied the score, 90-90, with 44 seconds on the clock, but Jones would have the final say. Bakersfield's guard got the ball in his hands, drove towards the hoop, and hit a fadeaway, contested jumper to put the `Runners ahead with 21 seconds left.

CSUN missed a go-ahead three-pointer with five seconds left and McGhee IV iced any thoughts of a Matador miracle by sinking a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining. Cal State Bakersfield completed the 23-point comeback, earning a 94-90 victory on its home court.

The `Runners improved to 3-3 in Big West play with the win and Barnes' squad will continue to go to battle with the rest of the league. March Madness looms around the corner for CSUB and the Big West, but Jones and Co. gave basketball fans an early taste Saturday night.

~GoRunners.com~