Senior Writer

The CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball team held off a late rally from Fresno State to beat the Bulldogs 71-63 in a sold out Icardo Center Tuesday, Nov. 22.

This win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

“It’s a big win, huge win for us,” said CSUB coach Rod Barnes. “I think the people here of Bakersfield should be proud of this team and proud of what we’ve done tonight.”

The sold out crowd amounted to 3,497 people in attendance.

It’s the second time in the past year that the Icardo Center has been sold out.

Last time it was sold out was Jan. 21, 2016 when New Mexico State University came to town.

It’s also just the fourth time that the Icardo has been sold out.

“I’ve been here for about three years now and it’s always a big thing when Fresno State comes to town, but our whole thing is we are going to play one way regardless if it’s Fresno State or New Mexico State or whoever it is,” said CSUB redshirt-senior forward Matt Smith.

The Roadrunners (3-1) controlled much of the game.

CSUB took the lead early on in the game and maintained the lead in the first half.

Redshirt-sophomore guard Damiyne Durham hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Roadrunners a 34-25 lead into halftime.

CSUB kept the momentum coming out of halftime, which was highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from freshman forward Taze Moore to redshirt-senior forward Jaylin Airington.

That dunk got the crowd to its feet and capped off a 21-8 run, giving the Roadrunners a 55-33 lead with 12:45 left in the second half.

“It was a great feeling, getting the crowd in it,” said Airington. “Coach, he was loving it. We fed off the energy from the crowd.”

It was their biggest lead in the game.

CSUB kept a double-digit lead throughout the rest of the game, until the final three minutes.

The Roadrunners would struggle late in the game and let Fresno State back in the game, as the Bulldogs kept cutting into the lead.

The Bulldogs (2-2) went on a 15-4 run with 2:39 left in the game that got them within 11 points of the lead and then cut it to 8 points.

The Bulldogs late run would be too late, as time would run out.

Airington would end the game as the leading scorer with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

The Chicago native shot 9 of 17 from the floor and 3 of 6 from outside the three-point arc.

Airington leads CSUB on the season with 23 points per game.

CSUB redshirt-sophomore Damiyne Durham added 15 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Durham ended the game 5 of 10 shooting from the floor and 3 of 7 shooting from the three-point line.

CSUB will travel to Dayton, Ohio on Nov. 25 for the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic.

This will be a three-day tournament where CSUB will play Wright State University, University of North Florida and North Dakota State University.