Cal Poly Men’s Basketball failed to gain a lead over CSU Bakersfield in a 72-50 defeat Saturday, Dec. 21 inside Mott Athletics Center. CSU Bakersfield’s Taze Moore produced a match-high 13 points and was the only player to score double digits. Redshirt freshman forward Kyle Colvin led Cal Poly with eight points.
The defeat comes just days after the Mustangs dropped a 57-56 nail-biter on the road against Sacramento State. With the losses, Cal Poly fell to an overall record of 2-10 with two games remaining before the start of Big West Conference play.
CSU Bakersfield (6-8) jumped to an early 8-0 lead behind back-to-back three-pointers from Moore and Greg Lee. After a pair of missed free throws and three missed three-pointers, Cal Poly (2-10) got on the scoreboard through a layup by senior guard Job Alexander. Freshman forward Alimamy Koroma followed up with a layup of his own to cut the score to 8-4, but the Roadrunners responded with a 9-3 run to extend their lead to 17-7.
A jump shot by CSU Bakersfield’s Justin McCall granted the Roadrunners their largest lead of the half at 29-13 with 5:20 remaining on the clock. However, the Mustangs managed to cut their deficit to 31-20 by halftime through five free throws and an Alexander layup.
Both teams traded points to open the second half until a layup from sophomore forward Tuukka Jaakkola put the Mustangs within seven points at 45-38. The seven-point gap was the closest Cal Poly would come to CSU Bakersfield as the Roadrunners followed up with a dominant 12-0 run to pull away for the remainder of the game.
A jump shot from freshman guard Colby Rogers broke the Roadrunners’ scoring run, but the effort was too late as CSU Bakersfield closed out its first road win of the season 72-50.
CSU Bakersfield was paced by its 48.2 percent shooting from the field, while Cal Poly was held to 34 percent from the field. The Roadrunners conceded three more turnovers than the Mustangs, but also led in rebounds (42 compared to Cal Poly’s 25). CSU Bakersfield also took advantage of its roster’s depth, scoring 36 points off the bench in the victory.
Cal Poly will take on No. 20 San Diego State on the road Saturday, Dec. 28 at 4 p.m.