Saturday, February 27
Bakersfield, Calif.
7:00 pm
California State University at Northridge
9-10, 5-7BWC
90
at
87
CSU Bakersfield
15-10, 9-7BWC
1
2
F
CSUN
43
47
90
CSU Bakersfield
49
38
87
Team Stats
CSUN
CSUB
FG%
.622
.552
3FG%
.571
.435
FT%
.722
.867
RB
19
31
TO
8
13
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
10
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Braden Villanueva
Matadors Bounce Back with 90-87 win at CSUB
2/27/2021 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.---After falling by double-digits in game one on Friday, CSUN Men's Basketball (9-10, 5-7 Big West) bounced back with a come-from-behind win on the road over CSU Bakersfield (15-10, 9-7 Big West), 90-87, on Saturday night at the Icardo Center. TJ Starks scored a team-high 25 points including 19 points in the second half while he added four assists. Freshman Alex Merkviladze poured in a season-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with four rebounds. The Matadors erased an 11-point deficit in the second half and handed CSUB just its second home loss of the season in 11 games.
Freshman Amound Anderson tallied 14 points as he went 4-of-6 from 3-point range while Darius Brown II added 13 points and seven assists. Anderson went 4-of-6 from 3-point range including 3-of-3 in the second half. Brown II made his only field goal attempt, a 3-point shot, and made 10-of-11 at the free throw line.
CSUN shot a season-high 62.2 percent from the field and made 8-of-14 from 3-point range (57.1 percent). The Matadors also hit 26-of-36 from the free throw line (72.2 percent). The Roadrunners finished with a 55.2 shooting percentage and 43.5 3-point percentage (10-of-23). CSUB also made 13-of-15 at the free throw line (86.7 percent). In the rebounding department, CSUB led 31-19 while the Roadrunners outscored the Matadors 36-30 in points in the paint.
FIRST HALF
Much like last night's contest, CSUB came out firing at the outset of the game. The 'Runners made their first three from 3-point range to stake to an 11-7 lead. Grehlon Easter knocked down another trey with 14:59 on the clock to give CSUB a six-point lead (16-10). Merkviladze would help keep the Matadors within striking distance with 17-first half points. Merkviladze's 3-pointer at the 12:22 mark cut the lead to three and his trey two minutes later gave the Matadors a one-point edge.
There would be eight ties and four lead changes in the high-scoring first half. Taze Moore gave the Roadrunners a brief 26-24 lead before Fidelis Okereke and Merkviladze scored on back-to-back possessions. Merkviladze would break a 32-32 tie on another 3-pointer with 5:43 on the clock. After Anderson's layup made it a 39-37 game, the Roadrunners took control in the closing four minutes. Justin Edler-Davis gave the Roadrunners the lead again on a 3-pointer while Shaun Williams followed with a 3-pointer of his own. Moore made two free throws in the final seconds to cap a 12-4 run to close the period, giving CSUB a 49-43 lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
Out of the intermission, the Matadors scored four-straight points to pull to within two. CSUB though continued to lead as an 11-2 run quickly extended the lead to 60-49 with 14:35 left to play. After a CSUN timeout, Starks would catch fire for the Matadors. Starks made four-straight baskets to help spearhead a 14-3 CSUN run. The Runners' lead stood at 69-63 before Starks found Anderson on back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game.
Brown II drew a foul on a 3-point shot with 5:34 left to play and would make all three attempts, giving CSUN a 72-71 lead. After Moore handed CSUB the lead right back on a layup, Brown II found Festus Ndumanya on a dunk on the ensuing possession. The Matadors would hold CSUB scoreless for over two minutes in a key stretch that saw CSUN score six-straight at the free throw line to take a four-point lead. Merkviladze later found Anderson for another 3-point basket to push the CSUN lead to 83-78 with 1:38 to play. The Matadors converted on five key free throws over the final 1:13 to help hold off the 'Runners in the final seconds.
GAME NOTES
Starks surpassed 1,000 career Division I points on Saturday. After scoring 651 points at Texas A&M from 2017-19, Starks has scored 367 points this season, giving the junior 1,018 over his career. Starks has scored 20 or more points in 10 of the Matadors' 19 games including in four-straight contests.
The Matadors' 62.2 shooting percentage was the highest by a CSUB opponent this season. It was also the highest percentage the Matadors have shot in a game since shooting 65.1 percent at Hawai'i on Feb. 10, 2018.
For CSUB, Moore had a game-high 28 points while Edler-Davis had 18 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I was really proud of our guys. We really shared the ball tonight. We had balanced scoring. Alex in the first half was terrific. Everybody stepped up and made plays, Amound Anderson, the four threes he had late in the game were terrific. Then there was TJ, we went to him and he took over a bit. We shared the ball, we played together. [Bakersfield] is a good basketball team, they're a veteran team. We've talked about it, they're an older, bigger, stronger team. Our guys stepped up and did a heck of a job. They need to feel good about this one."
UP NEXT
The Matadors return home for their final series of the regular season next week. CSUN hosts UC Riverside next Friday and Saturday with both games scheduled to tip at 4 p.m. on BigWest.TV. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call beginning at 3:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
Freshman Amound Anderson tallied 14 points as he went 4-of-6 from 3-point range while Darius Brown II added 13 points and seven assists. Anderson went 4-of-6 from 3-point range including 3-of-3 in the second half. Brown II made his only field goal attempt, a 3-point shot, and made 10-of-11 at the free throw line.
CSUN shot a season-high 62.2 percent from the field and made 8-of-14 from 3-point range (57.1 percent). The Matadors also hit 26-of-36 from the free throw line (72.2 percent). The Roadrunners finished with a 55.2 shooting percentage and 43.5 3-point percentage (10-of-23). CSUB also made 13-of-15 at the free throw line (86.7 percent). In the rebounding department, CSUB led 31-19 while the Roadrunners outscored the Matadors 36-30 in points in the paint.
FIRST HALF
Much like last night's contest, CSUB came out firing at the outset of the game. The 'Runners made their first three from 3-point range to stake to an 11-7 lead. Grehlon Easter knocked down another trey with 14:59 on the clock to give CSUB a six-point lead (16-10). Merkviladze would help keep the Matadors within striking distance with 17-first half points. Merkviladze's 3-pointer at the 12:22 mark cut the lead to three and his trey two minutes later gave the Matadors a one-point edge.
There would be eight ties and four lead changes in the high-scoring first half. Taze Moore gave the Roadrunners a brief 26-24 lead before Fidelis Okereke and Merkviladze scored on back-to-back possessions. Merkviladze would break a 32-32 tie on another 3-pointer with 5:43 on the clock. After Anderson's layup made it a 39-37 game, the Roadrunners took control in the closing four minutes. Justin Edler-Davis gave the Roadrunners the lead again on a 3-pointer while Shaun Williams followed with a 3-pointer of his own. Moore made two free throws in the final seconds to cap a 12-4 run to close the period, giving CSUB a 49-43 lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
Out of the intermission, the Matadors scored four-straight points to pull to within two. CSUB though continued to lead as an 11-2 run quickly extended the lead to 60-49 with 14:35 left to play. After a CSUN timeout, Starks would catch fire for the Matadors. Starks made four-straight baskets to help spearhead a 14-3 CSUN run. The Runners' lead stood at 69-63 before Starks found Anderson on back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game.
Brown II drew a foul on a 3-point shot with 5:34 left to play and would make all three attempts, giving CSUN a 72-71 lead. After Moore handed CSUB the lead right back on a layup, Brown II found Festus Ndumanya on a dunk on the ensuing possession. The Matadors would hold CSUB scoreless for over two minutes in a key stretch that saw CSUN score six-straight at the free throw line to take a four-point lead. Merkviladze later found Anderson for another 3-point basket to push the CSUN lead to 83-78 with 1:38 to play. The Matadors converted on five key free throws over the final 1:13 to help hold off the 'Runners in the final seconds.
GAME NOTES
Starks surpassed 1,000 career Division I points on Saturday. After scoring 651 points at Texas A&M from 2017-19, Starks has scored 367 points this season, giving the junior 1,018 over his career. Starks has scored 20 or more points in 10 of the Matadors' 19 games including in four-straight contests.
The Matadors' 62.2 shooting percentage was the highest by a CSUB opponent this season. It was also the highest percentage the Matadors have shot in a game since shooting 65.1 percent at Hawai'i on Feb. 10, 2018.
For CSUB, Moore had a game-high 28 points while Edler-Davis had 18 points.
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH MARK GOTTFRIED
"I was really proud of our guys. We really shared the ball tonight. We had balanced scoring. Alex in the first half was terrific. Everybody stepped up and made plays, Amound Anderson, the four threes he had late in the game were terrific. Then there was TJ, we went to him and he took over a bit. We shared the ball, we played together. [Bakersfield] is a good basketball team, they're a veteran team. We've talked about it, they're an older, bigger, stronger team. Our guys stepped up and did a heck of a job. They need to feel good about this one."
UP NEXT
The Matadors return home for their final series of the regular season next week. CSUN hosts UC Riverside next Friday and Saturday with both games scheduled to tip at 4 p.m. on BigWest.TV. Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister have the call beginning at 3:50 p.m.
#UniteTheValley
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