Defense drove Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday night, but it was Utah Valley that may have made the Roadrunners season.
Before CSUB defeated visiting University of Missouri, Kansas City, 71-62, Utah Valley stunned New Mexico State in Las Cruces, 84-72.
Utah Valley’s win, which snapped New Mexico State’s 23-game home winning streak, assured CSUB a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship.
Against the visiting Roos, CSUB got a huge night from Shon Briggs with 20 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes. Dedrick Basile scored 15 points and Jaylin Airington scored 12 points.
It wasn’t a pretty game, CSUB struggled in first half offensively but, once again, the defense stepped up and limited UMKC to just 40 percent shooting from the field in the first half.
The game remained tight through the second half until the Roadrunners made a late surge in the final two minutes of the game.
The victory was CSUB’s ninth consecutive and the Roadrunners can win the outright championship on Saturday night against Chicago State, which has yet to win in the WAC.
CSU BAKERSFIELD 71, UMKC 62
UMKC (15-14, 7-5 WAC)
King, Dashawn 4-7 7-8 16; Newbill, Broderick 5-12 3-4 14; Boyd, LaVell 4-13
1-2 11; Clark, Duane 4-6 1-3 9; Tillman, Darnell 2-2 0-0 4; Ross, Isaiah 1-6
0-0 3; Robinson, Broderick 1-4 0-0 3; Steward, Kyle 1-6 0-0 2; Bishop,
Xavier 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 12-17 62.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (20-7, 11-1 WAC)
Briggs, Shon 6-6 8-11 20; Basile, Dedrick 6-9 1-1 15; Airington, Jaylin 6-12
0-0 12; Wrapp, Brent 2-3 4-4 8; Smith, Matt 2-4 2-7 6; Aly, Moataz 2-3 0-1
4; Pride, Justin 0-2 4-4 4; Ndoye, Fallou 1-1 0-0 2; Durham, Damiyne 0-4 0-0
0. Totals 25-44 19-28 71.
UMKC…………………….. 28 34 – 62
CSU Bakersfield…………… 31 40 – 71
3-point goals–UMKC 6-26 (Boyd, LaVell 2-8; Ross, Isaiah 1-6; Newbill,
Broderick 1-4; King, Dashawn 1-2; Robinson, Broderick 1-4; Steward, Kyle
0-2), CSU Bakersfield 2-10 (Basile, Dedrick 2-3; Airington, Jaylin 0-4;
Durham, Damiyne 0-3). Fouled out–UMKC-Tillman, Darnell, CSU
Bakersfield-None. Rebounds–UMKC 31 (Tillman, Darnell 6), CSU Bakersfield 31
(Smith, Matt 7). Assists–UMKC 11 (Boyd, LaVell 7), CSU Bakersfield 18
(Wrapp, Brent 6). Total fouls–UMKC 20, CSU Bakersfield 15. Technical
fouls–UMKC-None, CSU Bakersfield-None. A-2233
