Tuesday, March 8
Henderson, Nev.
6:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
7-23,3-13Big We
45
vs
58
CSU Bakersfield
8-18,2-12Big We
1
2
F
CSU Bakersfield
24
34
58
CSUN
23
22
45
Team Stats
CSUB
CSUN
FG%
.489
.326
3FG%
.250
.188
FT%
.500
.857
RB
35
28
TO
9
11
STL
5
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Matadors Fall to CSUB 58-45 at Big West Tournament
3/8/2022 9:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HENDERSON, Nev.---CSUN Men's Basketball (7-23) dropped a 58-45 decision to CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday in a first-round game at the Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championships, presented by the Hawaiian Islands at the Dollar Loan Center. Elijah Hardy led the team in scoring with 13 points to go with two assists and two rebounds while Atin Wright and Marcel Stevens scored seven apiece. The Matadors trailed by three with less than 10 minutes to play before a 16-4 CSUB run turned the tide of the contest.
CSUN shot 32.6 percent for the game while the Roadrunners finished with a 48.9 shooting percentage. The Matadors would connect on 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) attempts from the free throw line and 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range. CSUB made 12-of-24 from the free throw line. The Roadrunners led in the rebounding department 35-28 and enjoyed a 34-12 advantage in points in the paint.
It would be a defensive battle for most of the first half as the teams combined for 47 points in the period and were limited to under 40 percent shooting. The Matadors jumped out to a 10-4 lead after back-to-back baskets from Fidelis Okereke and Hardy. The Roadrunners though scored on their next four times down the floor to race ahead 11-10. After the lead traded hands twice more, Onyi Eyisi scored inside to give CSUN a 14-13 edge. The Matadors would lead for the next six minutes, eventually building a 21-15 lead with 2:56 left to play.
CSUN dealt with foul trouble in first half with multiple players forced to the bench for several minutes including Eyisi who was whistled for three fouls. Miles James, Darius Beane, Hardy and Wright also played with foul trouble, each committing two fouls. Holding a lead to the 1:08 mark, the Matadors could not stop the Roadunners from ending the period on a 9-2 run to take the lead. Shawn Stith scored a late baset to put the Roadrunners on top 24-23 at halftime.
Out of the intermission, the Roadrunners scored the first five points until Wright knocked down a 3-pointer. Hardy also sank a trey of his own at the 15:49 mark, cutting the Roadrunner lead to 31-29. CSUB though scored on its next two possessions with Stith's layup extending the lead to six.
The Matadors trailed by nine near the 12-minute mark before going on a 6-0 run to pull to within 40-37. The Roadrunners though began to take control of the game near the eight-minute mark when Justin McCall threw down a dunk followed by a Kaleb Higgins steal off an inbound pass and layup. Higgins would score six-straight CSUB points during one stretch before Ivan Reynolds capped a 16-4 spurt to push the lead to 56-41. CSUN was limited to one made field goal over the last six minutes as the Roadrunners finished off a double-digit win.
GAME NOTES
Hardy finished 5-of-13 from the field in 28 minutes of action. Okereke grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with four points before fouling out. Stevens set a new career-high with his seven points.
For CSUB, Stith and Higgins scored 15 points apiece while McCall added 11 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"I thought Bakersfield did a really good job of defending. They were very physical and took us out of what we wanted to do in the second half. [Atin Wright] did a really good job of carrying us offensively the last nine or 10 games, and I thought they did a really good job of a man-and-a-half guarding him. With that being said, I can't do anything but acknowledge how these guys have stayed the course. With the numerous amount of injuries during the course of the year, in terms of when I first got here, what they've been through. We were picked to finish in last place in this conference unanimously, and for us to be the eighth seed going into this tournament speaks volumes of how they stayed the course and competed to the best of their ability."
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#UniteTheValley
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CSUN shot 32.6 percent for the game while the Roadrunners finished with a 48.9 shooting percentage. The Matadors would connect on 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) attempts from the free throw line and 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range. CSUB made 12-of-24 from the free throw line. The Roadrunners led in the rebounding department 35-28 and enjoyed a 34-12 advantage in points in the paint.
It would be a defensive battle for most of the first half as the teams combined for 47 points in the period and were limited to under 40 percent shooting. The Matadors jumped out to a 10-4 lead after back-to-back baskets from Fidelis Okereke and Hardy. The Roadrunners though scored on their next four times down the floor to race ahead 11-10. After the lead traded hands twice more, Onyi Eyisi scored inside to give CSUN a 14-13 edge. The Matadors would lead for the next six minutes, eventually building a 21-15 lead with 2:56 left to play.
CSUN dealt with foul trouble in first half with multiple players forced to the bench for several minutes including Eyisi who was whistled for three fouls. Miles James, Darius Beane, Hardy and Wright also played with foul trouble, each committing two fouls. Holding a lead to the 1:08 mark, the Matadors could not stop the Roadunners from ending the period on a 9-2 run to take the lead. Shawn Stith scored a late baset to put the Roadrunners on top 24-23 at halftime.
Out of the intermission, the Roadrunners scored the first five points until Wright knocked down a 3-pointer. Hardy also sank a trey of his own at the 15:49 mark, cutting the Roadrunner lead to 31-29. CSUB though scored on its next two possessions with Stith's layup extending the lead to six.
The Matadors trailed by nine near the 12-minute mark before going on a 6-0 run to pull to within 40-37. The Roadrunners though began to take control of the game near the eight-minute mark when Justin McCall threw down a dunk followed by a Kaleb Higgins steal off an inbound pass and layup. Higgins would score six-straight CSUB points during one stretch before Ivan Reynolds capped a 16-4 spurt to push the lead to 56-41. CSUN was limited to one made field goal over the last six minutes as the Roadrunners finished off a double-digit win.
GAME NOTES
Hardy finished 5-of-13 from the field in 28 minutes of action. Okereke grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with four points before fouling out. Stevens set a new career-high with his seven points.
For CSUB, Stith and Higgins scored 15 points apiece while McCall added 11 points.
ACCORDING TO COACH TRENT JOHNSON
"I thought Bakersfield did a really good job of defending. They were very physical and took us out of what we wanted to do in the second half. [Atin Wright] did a really good job of carrying us offensively the last nine or 10 games, and I thought they did a really good job of a man-and-a-half guarding him. With that being said, I can't do anything but acknowledge how these guys have stayed the course. With the numerous amount of injuries during the course of the year, in terms of when I first got here, what they've been through. We were picked to finish in last place in this conference unanimously, and for us to be the eighth seed going into this tournament speaks volumes of how they stayed the course and competed to the best of their ability."
Â
#UniteTheValley
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