Anteaters avenge loss with thorough win over 'Runners
| Saturday, Feb 06 2010 10:57 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Feb 06 2010 10:57 PM
IRVINE -- It was night-and-day comparing Saturday's Cal State Bakersfield vs. UC Irvine matchup to Wednesday's meeting between the same teams in Rabobank Arena.
On Saturday, Irvine dominated both ends of the floor from the start and coasted to a 76-63 win in the Bren Events Center.
Aside from junior guard Donavan Bragg, who had 25 points, the Roadrunners had limited production team-wide.
The biggest concern was sophomore guard Bryan Emanuel's left knee injury, which occurred with 1:43 left in the game when he was bumped going up for a layup and crashed into the basket support.
The outside of his left knee was iced and he needed crutches to leave the floor after the game.
"Anytime you put pressure on the knee like that, it's vulnerable," said CSUB coach Keith Brown.
Freshman guard Marcus Hall suffered a sprained ankle in the first half and played only briefly in the second half.
CSUB (5-17) came into the game with five straight solid performances -- three wins, a loss in overtime and a one-point loss. But cold shooting prevented any offensive consistency, and Irvine played with much greater focus and energy than it did on Wednesday, when the Roadrunners beat the Anteaters in Bakersfield, 68-55.
"We have to play like that to be successful," said Irvine coach Pat Douglass, who led CSUB to 10 straight Div. II postseason berths from 1987-97 before leaving Bakersfield for the Irvine job. "The kids came out and played hard."
Bragg said the effort by Irvine was the difference.
"They came out firing and had too much offensive rhythm at the beginning," said Bragg. "It just got away from us a little bit. Our team defensive effort was lacking most of the game."
Irvine (10-14) broke a four-game losing streak and it was only the team's second win in nine games.
The Anteaters placed added emphasis on their defense against CSUB seniors Santwon Latunde and Trent Blakley.
Latunde had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Blakley had 20 points in CSUB's win on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Latunde finished with four points, six rebounds and six turnovers, going 0-for-4 from the floor. Blakley had nine points on 1-of-10 shooting, which ended his double-figure scoring streak at 25 straight games.
"They had better will and purpose than we did tonight," said Brown. "Credit Pat and his team for the adjustments they made. ... We didn't approach this game with the same discipline on either end of the floor like we did the other night."
Irvine was led by guard Darren Moore, who had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes of play. Forward Eric Wise had 21 points and guard Michael Hunter added 15 points.
CSUB shot only 32 percent and had 19 turnovers. In the first half, Bragg had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, but the rest of the team was only 3-of-19.
The Roadrunners trailed 33-22 at halftime and Irvine increased the lead to 48-28 on Moore's 3-pointer with 14:16 left in the game. CSUB never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
CSUB plays host to Cal State Northridge on Wednesday in Rabobank Arena.
