Sports Editor
Redshirt senior guard Issaiah Grayson takes flight against Seattle on Feb.14. Grayson went on to score 22 points.
The CSUB men’s basketball team beat the Redhawks of Seattle University by a score of 83-63 on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Rabobank Arena.
“Our guys played with a lot of confidence,” said Head Coach Rod Barnes. “It was probably our best game in defense. Hopefully we can stay humble.”
The ’Runners went into Saturday’s game with positive momentum from a 9-point win over Idaho on Thursday. With the two victories last week, the ’Runners have moved into a current tie for fourth place with two other schools.
“It was a big-time win for us,” said redshirt senior guard Issaiah Grayson. “When we get that monkey off our back, can’t nobody beat us.”
The ’Runners were pressured by the Redhawk defense from the start of the game. The first half of the game only saw a combined 55 points from both teams.
The ’Runners brought the pressure on defense as well, despite a size disadvantage. The ’Runners kept the Western Athletic Conference’s leading scorer Isaiah Umipig to a 25 percent field goal percentage and only three points in the first half.
“He’s one of the top players in the league,” Grayson said. “One of the biggest keys was to contain ‘No. 1.’”
The outcome of the game was a tug of war on both sides. Before the ’Runners took their final 18 point lead, the ’Runners had a 13 point lead whittled down to four points in a matter of three minutes.
“They are a good team,” said sophomore center Aly Ahmed. “All of the teams we play are pretty good, so we’re not going to have an easy game.”
Ahmed finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds for the ’Runners.
The ’Runners, in addition to playing a good game defensively, recorded 20 assists, 12 of which were in the second half.
“We’re trying to play as unselfishly as possible,” said junior guard Tyrell Corbin. “I think we’re able to close out games more that way. We’ve figured out that just one guy can’t just win the game.”
The ’Runners hit the road on Thursday, Feb. 20 to take on the Kangaroos of the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the ’Runners are looking for a final push of momentum to launch them into the WAC Tournament.
