Assistant Sports Editor

LOS ANGELES, CA. – In a tale of two different halves, the No. 25 UCLA Bruins outlasted the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners, 75-66 on Wednesday, Nov. 29 in Pauley Pavilion.

CSUB freshman guard Jarkel Joiner led the Roadrunners with a game-high 20 points.

Joiner shot 50 percent (4-for-8) with 10 points in the first half.

The Roadrunners (4-4) set the pace for the game early in the first half, leading 16-9 with 9:50 left in the first half.

The Bruins (6-1) tied the Roadrunners 23-23 after a three-pointer from center Thomas Welsh, with 4:23 left on the clock in the first half.

UCLA led 29-27 at halftime.

In the second half, the Bruins began a 9-1 run to set the pace for the half.

CSUB’s 3-point percentage fell from 54 percent in the first period, to 18 percent in the second.

CSUB could not match UCLA’s points in the paint. The Bruins shot 56 percent in the second half. The Roadrunners were 10-for-39 (25 percent), down 10 percent from the first half.

The Bruins outmatched the Roadrunners by size and experience, which showed on the court.

However, there were bright spots for CSUB.

CSUB redshirt-junior guard, Damiyne Durham shot 3-for-5 with 9 points in the first half.

Durham finished with 15 points.

The Bruins shot 10-for-29 in the first half. CSUB shot 10-for-28 in the first, in comparison.

Head Coach Rod Barnes said he was happy with the effort from the team. “You always want to come out with a win. They gave a valid effort.”

Barnes added, “They did not give up. They kept battling. We’re accomplishing a lot while we’re on the road.”

He said the team played with a lot of toughness and character in their road games, ending at UCLA before returning home.

Durham said, “I’m happy with the way we played, but we didn’t get the ‘W.’” He added, “That’s what we came here to get but we didn’t get it.”

He said the UCLA was bigger than teams that the Roadrunners are used to playing, but they didn’t take good shots.

Senior forward Shon Briggs, finished with six points and two assists. He said, “We felt like we could have got, [the win], coming in.”

The game came down to mistakes, according to Briggs.

CSUB turned over the ball 11 times.

Briggs said that in the second half, UCLA adjusted.

“We laid down a little bit in the second half,” said Briggs.

CSUB’s assist-leader, redshirt-senior guard, Brent Wrapp, had only three assists on the night. Wrapp had three steals against UCLA, yet committed three turnovers.

The Roadrunners committed 25 fouls as a team, the second highest this season. CSUB center senior Moataz Aly fouled out of the game with 12:20 left in the second half and Wrapp fouled out with 51 seconds left in the game.

The Roadrunners return home, Saturday, Dec. 2, to take on Northern Arizona University at the Icardo Center at 7 p.m. Then, they travel to Fresno State to face the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.