Keith Brown is the Cal State University Bakersfield head coach. He's been with the program close to 10 years, having ushered the Roadrunners into the D-1 ranks of late as the head coach. His team is currently 4-11 but more notable is the 3-4 home record. Do keep in mind that this is a squad that hosted Boise State, losing by just four and also St. Mary's, falling by six points. No, these are not typos.
The Season To Date
Nov 14 @ Wyoming 58 - 84 (L)
Nov 16 @ Air Force 62 - 70 (L)
Nov 21 Cal State Northridge 67 - 65 (W)
Nov 25 Sacramento State 72 - 62 (W)
Nov 29 @ Pepperdine 79 - 72 (W)
Dec 01 San Diego 65 - 77 (L)
Dec 03 @ University of the Pacific 63 - 67 (L)
Dec 06 @ UC Davis 86 - 87 (L)
Dec 10 @ Fresno State 51 - 66 (L)
Dec 13 @ Cal State Fullerton 64 - 87 (L)
Dec 16 @ South Dakota State 65 - 86 (L)
Dec 20 Boise State 62 - 66 (L)
Dec 23 Cal Poly 66 - 64 (W)
Dec 30 Portland 76 - 79 (L) 3
Jan 02 Saint Mary's College 74 - 80 (L)
Jan 04 @ Loyola Marymount 69 - 72 (L)
The Starting Five
We haven't a clue who will form the opening quintet for the Roadrunners. Cory Brown is the tallest player but has started just six games. Santwon Latunde is the second leading scorer but a starter but one time.
Cory Brown 6-10 223 He's checking in at a paltry 1.9 ppg. and 1.6 rpg. but being close to 7-feet is what should get him a starting nod
Trent Blakey 6-4, 220 -- The top scorer at 13.2 ppg., he is shooting 45% from the floor and 39% from three-point range, having taken the most long-range attempts on the team. He is second in rebounding at 5.5 a contest.
Terrance Johns 6-3, 213 -- The California co-MVP of the season while a sophomore at Bakersfield JC, he is a very athletic scorer-type but his shooting is down this season so far at 38% overall and 22% from three-point distance.
Bryan Emanuel 6-2, 200 -- This freshman is averaging 5.0 ppg. while starting each one of Bakersfield's games this season. His shooting is shaky -- 32% for the season and 33% on his treys.
Alex Johnson 5-10, 170 -- His 42/29 assist-to-turnover numbers are the best on the team but he's shooting just 34% and 36%
Off The Bench
Donavan Bragg 6-3, 196 -- He's a creator but has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 41/40 plus his shooting so far has been subpar, 31% and 27% overall and from long range respectively.
Santwon Latunde 6-6, 252 -- He was injured when SJSU played Bakersfield last season but is a scorer down low -- 11.8 a game -- and the top boarder for the Roadrunners at 7.6 caroms a contest. Getting around his screens should probably be measured by an hourglass.
As A Team
*** Bakersfield is shooting 39% collectively while allowing opponents to nail a much better 46% but the Roadrunners have managed 64 more shots to date
*** Three-point shooting has the Roadrunners at 32% to 39% for opposing teams
*** Bakersfield is being out-boarded 37 to 33 per contest
*** The Roadrunners are winning the turnover battle, commiting 226 to 260 for opponents, turning a size disparity to their advantage
*** Bakersfield is also theft-ier (if there is such a word) 101 to 81 -- ditto as above
*** For whatever reason(s), the Roadrunners are scoring much better in the second halfs of games, being just a minus 10 points for the season as a team then as compared to the first half when they are 92 points in the hole
The Bakersfield Roster
Donavan Bragg G 6-3 196 sophomore
Pat Carlson G 6-4 211 junior
Justin Dennis G 6-1 174 junior
Bryan Emanuel G 6-2 200 freshman
Terrance Johns G 6-3 213 senior
Alex Johnson G 5-10 170 sophomore
Jonathan Machado G 5-10 172 junior
Jeff Osborne G 5-10 163 freshman
Ryan Brown G/F 6-4 205 junior
James Albright F 6-6 212 freshman
Trent Blakley F 6-4 220 junior
Santwon Latunde F 6-6 262 junior
Donald Lee F 6-6 228 senior
Cory Brown C 6-10 223 sophomore
Jose Lara C 6-8 280 junior
What Else
Bakersfield kept pace with St. Mary's for most of the game on January 1, eventually losing by six points:
For the second consecutive season, Saint Mary’s used a big run around halftime to open up a close game en route to an 80-74 win over CSUB Friday night at Rabobank Arena. Junior forward Trent Blakley led CSUB with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. But All-America candidate Patrick Mills and junior center Omar Samhan led Saint Mary’s to its 10th consecutive with with 21 and 20 points respectively...
and
The Roadrunners also lost to Boise State but by an even closer margin:
The CSUB men’s basketball team gave one of its best efforts of the season Saturday night, but 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifier Boise State had just a little too much moxie for the young Roadrunners, holding on for A 66-62 win at Rabobank Arena. Junior forward Trent Blakley ended a minor slump by posting his first double-double of the season. He finished with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The CSUB starting backcourt of Terrence Johns and Alex Johnson chipped in 14 and 13 points respectively.
Last Year
Here's what we wrote about the second match of these two teams last season:
Spartans flatten Roadrunners 71-56
It was a re-match tonight between San Jose State and Cal State Bakersfield and the Roadrunners must have felt like the Bill Murray character in the film "Groundhog Day." That's because Bakersfield started out well only to lose momentum and eventually be run over in the second half, losing 71-56. On November 30 in Bakersfield, the final score was 78-63 with a similar second 20 minutes surge.
The upstarts from Kern County initially took advantage of the Spartan difficulties in transitioning from being positioned in a zone defense to picking a man and blocking out on the boards after shot attempts. A couple of very early putbacks/tip-ins gave Bakersfield hope. But San Jose State enjoyed some good possessions, proceeding to pound the ball inside for short shots.
The highlight of the first half was pulled off by DaShawn Wright. After missing a steal near midcourt while running back to defend, he continued on direct in the left passing lane and soon received the ball as the Bakersfield ballhandler attempted to send a pass to a teammate in the corner. Wright then turned and lofted a length of the court pass to C.J. Webster who slammed it home for the Spartans.
Chris Oakes also benefitted from a number of short shots by grabbing the ball and scoring while being fouled.
The Spartans enjoyed a series of effective sequences in the last five minutes of the opening period anchored by three threes from Tim Pierce. A Webster pass to Wright produced a jumpshot for two and Wright broke the Roadrunner press with a dribble-drive pass to Oakes for a dunk.
After 20 minutes, the Spartans led 39-31.
In the second half, Wright started out with a steal he converted into a layup, Jamon Hill passed to Webster for another layup and then nailed a running six-footer himself. With the score 47-33, Bakersfield closed to seven but a couple more quick streaks and the Spartans were back to enjoying a solid double-digit lead.
For the game, Oakes led the team, just missing a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Webster filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight boards and four assists. Pierce scored 12 on his four three-pointers. Wright enjoyed 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
San Jose State shot 45% for the game, holding Bakersfield to 34%. The Spartans also out-boarded the Roadrunners 44-32.
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