HENDERSON, Nev. — In a game that featured two offenses struggling to get started, it was only fitting that one would win without actually making any shots from the field.
After CSUN's Ethan Igbanugo sank a pull-up jumper to tie the game at 44 with 3:21 remaining, neither the Matadors nor Cal State Bakersfield converted a field goal for the rest of the game. Instead, the Roadrunners won a battle of free throws 7-3, with Cameron Smith, Travis Henson and Antavion Collum making two apiece, and secured key defensive rebounds late to claim an ugly 51-47 win over CSUN Tuesday night.
They advanced in the Big West Conference tournament and will face top seed UC Irvine on Thursday.
The trio of forwards finished the game as CSUB's three double-digit scorers, as Collum led the way with 16 points and added six rebounds.
The Matadors, meanwhile, fell to 1-26 over the last two season in games in which star scorer Atin Wright tallies fewer than 15 points; he managed just 10, with Roadrunner defensive standout Ivan Reynolds earning a measure of redemption after Wright put up 28 and grabbed 10 rebounds at the Matadome on Feb. 23.
With 10 seconds left, CSUN had a chance to tie the game down 50-47, but Wright missed a pull-up 3 from the top of the key and came down awkwardly on his leg. The long rebound bounced off Cameron Smith and out of bounds, giving the Matadors one last chance, but with Wright on the sideline. Freshman Cam Slaymaker, who had kickstarted a first-half rally for CSUN, ended up missing a turnaround jumper from inside the arc to torpedo the Matadors' chances.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens finished as their leading scorer with 15 points, but also got called for multiple key offensive fouls to stymie CSUN possessions.
Neither team accomplished much in the halfcourt set, fouls or not; both shot 32 percent.
Henson gave the Roadrunners an early spark with their first six points, and Collum followed up with strong post offense. Beginning with a three-point play, he tallied nine points in a span of under eight minutes to help CSUB go up 21-14 with six-and-a-half minutes left in the first half.
From then on, though, the CSUN zone forced the Roadrunners into a pattern of stagnant passing around the perimeter until late into the shot clock. CSUB went just 1-for-8 down the stretch, while Slaymaker’s deep 3 began a 12-3 run that gave the Matadors a 26-24 run entering halftime. It was bolstered by five free throws; the Roadrunners took more than seven minutes to commit their first foul but accumulated eight, including Marvin McGhee’s third of the half, by the time the period was over.
CSUB finally got acclimated to the CSUN defense and Henson and McGhee sank one 3-pointer apiece early in the second half, then Collum made back-to-back key buckets to give the Roadrunners the lead back at 36-35 nearly eight minutes into the half.
The two teams went back and forth, with the Matadors switching to man defense, before Marcel Stevens hit a 3 and put CSUN up 42-39. The Roadrunners responded with five straight, highlighted by a strong putback from guard Naseem Gaskin when McGhee missed from deep. Gaskin, who missed a chunk of the year with a recurring nerve injury, fouled out soon afterward, but along with Reynolds, he helped shoulder the responsibility of limiting CSUN's dangerous guards.
After a day of rest, CSUB will take on UCI Thursday back at the Dollar Loan Center.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
