Cal State Bakersfield makes a statement, a local driver shines against major competition and another title for Bakersfield College. Here is your weekend sports roundup:
CSUB TAKES THE WAC LEAD
Cal State Bakersfield is in an unusual, but not unwelcome, position as the No. 1 team in the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings, after a momentous weekend.
The Roadrunners (16-7) defeated University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley (10-16) on Saturday night, 75-53, but earlier in the evening Grand Canyon upset New Mexico State to give the Roadrunners sole possession of first place.
“I thought our guys came back and played really well on the defensive end as we have been recently,” Barnes said via gorunners.com “Sometimes, when you play a big game like we did against New Mexico State [on Thursday], it takes so much out of you. I thought our guys were really strong and showed a lot of character today.”
Against UTRGV, the Roadrunners were led by Damiyne Durham’s 17 points and three others scored in double figures.
After trailing for the first eight minutes of the game, CSUB took control at the 12:11 mark on an Moataz Aly jumper and never looked back. The Runners outscored UTRGV 29-14 over the final minutes of the first half to take a 40-24 halftime lead.
Once again, CSUB’s defense led the way and the Runners limited the Vaqueros to more than 20 points below their scoring average of 78.7 points per game.
DEREK THORN WINS WINTER SHOWDOWN
With a NASCAR Cup champion in the field Saturday night, Derek Thorn proved that he belongs in an elite class of drivers, especially when it comes to racing at Kern County Raceway Park.
Thorn, who lives in Bakersfield, put on a dominating show Saturday night to win the 2017 Winter Showdown and $30,000. Thorn bested an impressive field, which included 2015 NASCAR champion Kyle Busch.
BC WINS CONFERENCE TITLE
With 23 points from Tucker Eenigenburg, Bakersfield College defeated West Los Angeles College 70-66 to win the Western State Conference South championship for a second consecutive season. This was BC’s first back-to-back title since the conference was formed in 1981, according to gogades.com
