March 15, 2016
California State University, Bakersfield
Vol. 41, No. 18
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CHAMPIONS
WE ARE GOING DANCIN’
AJ Alvarado/The Runner
The CSUB men’s basketball team piles on junior guard Dedrick Basile after he hit the game-winning three-pointer over New Mexico State University on Saturday in the Orleans Arena.
Game-winning 3 sends Roadrunners to NCAA tourney
By Joe Macias Sports Editor
It was the shot that made CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball history. With the score tied at 54 with 10 seconds remaining, the CSUB men’s basketball team had one last chance to beat rival New Mexico State University in regulation on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nev. Junior guard Dedrick Basile sized-up the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and sophomore forward Pascal Siakam. Basile stepped back and hit a three-pointer over the outstretched arm of
SPECIAL ISSUE
57 54 Siakam to give the Roadrunners a 57-54 win for their first Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship and for the first time they punched their ticket to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
PAGE 2 Photos: The CSUB Roadrunners beat rival New Mexico State University. Check out our gallery from Saturday night’s WAC Tournament, where CSUB got its first championship win.
“When coach (Rod) Barnes has that much confidence in me, I got to come through for him,” Basile said on taking the last shot. “It’s just one of the greatest feelings ever, that’s all I could say.” New Mexico State had been a thorn in CSUB’s side not just this year but all-time. This was the first time CSUB had beaten New Mexico State in 11 meetings. “We wanted Dedrick to take the shot. This was the whole plan,” said Barnes. “He shot it when we wanted. It’s just a great team effort. “I love these kids. This is a special bunch of kids and they
PAGE 3 Column: CSUB wins with .2 seconds remaining on the buzzer. Editor-in-Chief Esteban Ramirez writes about the historic and poetic win for the Roadrunners in this issue’s sports column.
needed this. This is what it’s all about.” Basile led the game in scoring with 18 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the floor and earned the WAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award. CSUB never trailed once in the game and led for over 38 minutes of the 40 minutes in the game. “It was just our night, our turn, it was our time,” Barnes said. CSUB redshirt-freshman guard Damiyne Durham, who transferred from Baylor University, scored 15 points for the Roadrunners and was one rebound short from a dou-
PAGE 4 Preview: MVP Dedrick Basile is excited for CSUB’s upcoming matchup with second-seeded Oklahoma University this Friday. The NCAA tourney will be televised on TNT at 1 p.m.
ble-double with nine. “I’m not going to say it’s the best performance I’ve had, but it’s definitely the most exciting that I’ve ever been through,” said Durham. This win was a little more special to CSUB redshirt-junior guard Jaylin Airington as he celebrated his 23rd birthday following the win. “I’m lost for words. God is good. It’s a blessing,” said Airington. “It means a lot for my birthday. I could remember this for years to come.” For CSUB senior forward Kevin Mays, who was battling foul trouble throughout the game, he had the role of
guarding Siakam and held him to just 11 points, about nine points below his average of 20.3 points. “This team is a great team and we are definitely going to make some noise in the tournament,” Mays said. CSUB earned the 15th seed in the West Region of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament and will play second-seeded Oklahoma University in Oklahoma City on Friday, March 18. “It’s a lifetime dream right there and there is no other team I would rather go (to the NCAA tournament) with than this team right here,” Basile said.
WAC Championship
Commemorative Edition This special edition of The Runner is sponsored by the CSU Bakersfield Office of the President, Dr. Horace Mitchell.
2 Championship Issue
March 15, 2016
Marching into
Photos by AJ Alvarado/The Runner
The CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball team celebrates after winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Saturday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
CSUB redshirt-freshman guard Damiyne Durham cuts down a piece of the net after CSUB beat New Mexico State 57-54 on Saturday in the Orleans Arena.
THE RUNNER
From left to right: CSUB student manager JayVon Stone takes a selfie with senior forward Kevin Mays and junior guard Justin Pride following Saturday’s win in the Orleans Arena.
CSU Bakersfield fans cheer on the Roadrunners against the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. CSUB beat NMSU 57-54.
ADVISER
Jennifer Burger
jburger1@csub.edu
Volume 41, Issue 17 The Runner California State University, Bakersfield 9001 Stockdale Hwy. Bakersfield, CA 93311-1099 Telephone: 661-654-2165 Email: therunner.online@ gmail.com therunneronline.com
editorial staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Esteban Ramirez
FEATURES EDITOR Graham C Wheat
SPORTS EDITOR Joe Macias
PHOTO EDITOR AJ Alvarado
ABOUT
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CSUB President Horace Mitchell takes a picture with redshirt-junior forward Matt Smith following Saturday’s WAC Tournament championship win at the Orleans Arena. CSUB transported students to Las Vegas, Nev. to cheer on the CSUB men’s basketball team.
March 15, 2016
the Madness
Championship Issue 3
COLUMN
Welcome to primetime, CSUB
CSUB reshirt-junior forward Matt Smith blocks 7-foot-3-inch Tanveer Bhullar at the WAC Tournament championship game on Saturday. CSUB took the title win making it the first time for the Roadrunners to win the championship.
CSUB redshirt-junior forward Jaylin Airington goes up for a basket against New Mexico State University at the WAC Tournament on Saturday.
By Esteban Ramirez Editor-in-Chief
CSU Bakersfield’s Western Athletic Conference title win wasn’t just historic, it was poetic. New Mexico State has had CSUB’s number 11 times before Saturday’s game. That’s right, 11 times. So, to beat the team that has had your number for so long makes this even more special to the CSUB community. At times, saying New Mexico State to a CSUB fan was like saying Voldemort. You just didn’t bring the Aggies up, after they constantly beat the Roadrunners time and time again. So, when CSUB built a lead against rival New Mexico State and the Aggies came right back to tie the game, it was just all-too-familiar to any CSUB fan at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas or those watching from home. Then, junior guard Dedrick Basile stepped up and hit the biggest shot in CSUB men’s basketball history. He hit a tough, contested three-pointer to beat New Mexico State. “It still feels unreal,” said Basile. Basile ended the Aggies’ threeyear run of dominance. CSUB alumnus John Salazar said beating the Aggies makes it even better. “That team that has always been beating us and has always been knocking out,” said Salazar. Basile etched his name forever in CSUB sports history by punching the Roadrunners’ ticket into the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time. He also proved that CSUB could beat the bullies of the WAC — New Mexico State. “Kevin Mays said it best after we beat Seattle, we were praying that New Mexico State would win the semifinals,” said
CSUB junior guard Dedrick Basile goes up for a shot in the second half against New Mexico State on Saturday.
CSUB Athletics Director Kenneth Siegfried. “We had to beat the big guys and we did it. It’s unbelievable.” While it would have still been a huge accomplishment if CSUB beat any other team for the Western Athletic Conference title, it needed to be against New Mexico State, the team they were 0-11 against, the team that continuously had been a thorn in their side and the team that won the last three WAC championships. It proved without any doubt that CSUB was ready for primetime. Additionally, to beat the same team that earlier in the season beat CSUB with a game-winning three-pointer and to pay it back, it’s just the icing on the cake. This win was monumental because this program had shown that it had already turned a corner, but it needed to prove that it could beat that team. CSUB fan Mark Thompson,
who was there when CSUB won the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship back in 1991, said that when the shot went up he was just saying, “just please go in.” This win also solidified that CSUB men’s basketball belongs in Division I and the decision to jump to D-I 10 years ago was the right move. “(The win) validates our decision some years ago to move to Division I,” said CSUB President Horace Mitchell. “We thought we could be competitive in Division I and we have been.” This season had just felt like it was going to be something special from the start. The only thing standing in CSUB’s way was New Mexico State but the Roadrunners showed that they were ready for the bright lights and the pressure situations of the big games, so welcome to primetime, CSUB.
CSUB guard Dedrick Basile accepts the award for Most Valuable Player following the CSUB men’s basketball team’s big win at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.
4 Championship Issue
March 15, 2016
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Roadrunners head to the Big Dance First Round matchup No. 2 Oklahoma
No. 15 CSUB
80.4
73.0
Defense: 70.4
63.2
Points:
Leading Scorer
Buddy Hield Senior Guard Points per game: 25.0
Leading Scorer
Aly Ahmed Senior Center Points per game: 12.9
How to Watch the Game On TV: TNT will air the game at 1 p.m. Pacific Time following the Oregon State vs. VCU game. Watch Party: Temblor Brewing Company, 3200 Buck Owens Blvd. $1 off beers 12-4 p.m.
AJ Alvarado/The Runner
CSUB head coach Rod Barnes celebrates and dances after his team beat New Mexico State 57-54 at the WAC Tournament.
CSUB men’s basketball prepares for No. 2 Oklahoma By Esteban Ramirez Editor-in-Chief
It’s time for the CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball team to take its turn on the dance floor. CSUB earned the number 15 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament and will play second-seeded Oklahoma University on Friday in Oklahoma City. CSUB head coach Rod Barnes said that anytime a team plays
against a number two seed, it’s going to be atough matchup. “You get a chance to get in this tournament, especially when you play against a great program, great team it’s going to be tough regardless.” The game will be televised on TNT at 1 p.m. “As far as what they do and what we do, I think it’s a good matchup for us,” said Barnes. “They are not overly big. They got (6-foot-8-inch and 6-foot9-inch) kids, which is what we
play against.” Barnes added that Oklahoma is guard-oriented and “We feel like our guards defend well, so we’ll see what happens,” said Barnes. CSUB finished the season 24-8 and 11-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners then beat No. 7 Chicago State 79-57 in the first round of the WAC Tournament. CSUB went on to beat No. 3 Seattle University 72-47 in the
semifinals. That set the stage for CSUB’s WAC title win over New Mexico State University, 57-54. CSUB is led by senior center Aly Ahmed who is averaging 12.9 points per game and 6.2 rebounds. Senior forward Kevin Mays averages 12.5 points per game and a team-high 8 rebounds. Western Athletic Conference Tournament MVP and junior guard Dedrick Basile averages 12 points per game and a team-
high 1.8 steals per game. “It’s going to be an exciting game,” said Basile. “We got no pressure on us at all. We are just going to try and upset them.” The Oklahoma Sooners finished the season 25-7 and 12-6 in the Big 12. The Sooners are led by senior guard Buddy Hield, who is averaging 25 points per game, which is the second most in the nation. Senior guard Isaiah Cousins
averages 13 points per game and senior forward Ryan Spangler averages 10.8 points and a team-high 9.4 rebounds. Mays said he likes the matchup. “We’ve been underdogs our whole lives, so we are just looking forward to it,” said Mays. “It’s kind of like homecourt advantage for them. We won big games on the road too, so we are looking forward to getting this ‘W.’”
BY NCAA.COM