CSUB men’s basketball looks to bounce back after season opening loss at UCLA
From left to right: CSUB’s Ray Somerville, Ivan Reynolds and UCLA’s David Singleton exit the court as the buzzer finalizes the Bruins 95-58 victory.
November 12, 2021
CSU Bakersfield’s men’s basketball opened their season in a loss at No. 2 UCLA with a final score of 95-58. As the only game on the schedule against a nationally ranked opponent, it presented the ‘Runners with a challenging start to the 2021-2022 campaign.
Coach Rod Barnes said the team was not intimidated by the tough opening match up.
“We scouted them really well. We were concerned they’d been together so long. We haven’t been together for so long. But they did what a No. 2 team is supposed to do,” said Barnes.
UCLA attempted 18 more free throws and 10 more three point field goals than CSUB respectively with a true shooting percentage of .639 led by guards Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard with 19 points each.
Bernard noted the excitement at the Bruins home opener against CSUB.
“To kick off our first game, it was an amazing feeling having the students there, the fans there. It just brought a lot of energy,” Bernard said.
Despite the final score, CSUB improved their play considerably and doubled their offensive output in the second half of the game with 39 points led by Senior Justin Mccall’s team high 11 points in 13 minutes played. The ‘Runners look to bounce back from the road loss in the team’s regular season home opener against Life Pacific(1-2) Saturday, Nov. 13.
