By Esteban Ramirez

Sports Editor

With seconds ticking down against University of Missouri-Kansas City, CSU Bakersfield’s Jaylin Airington hit a buzzer-beating shot to give the ’Runners a 64-62 Western Athletic Conference win at the Icardo Center on Feb. 21.

The game was tied at 62-62 with 29 seconds left in the game after a three pointer from UMKC sophomore guard Martez Harrison. CSUB inbounded the ball to redshirt-freshman guard Brent Wrapp, who attacked the basket then dished it off to redshirt-sophomore guard Airington to set up the moment.

Airington took a couple dribbles before pulling up for a mid-range shot from 18 feet away to give the Roadrunners the lead with only three-tenths of a second left in the game.

“It was my first time ever making [a buzzer-beating shot],” Airington, who finished with 16 points, said. “I dreamed about it a lot and I just thank God for the opportunity. The guys just trusted in me and believed in me that I could make the shot and I wanted to make it. I wanted it in my hands and I made the shot.”

Airington added that the play call was for junior center Aly Ahmed to take the shot, but because of the defense Wrapp gave it to him.

“It’s still unbelievable and I’m thankful,” he said.

Barnes said he liked the shot because it was one that Airington is comfortable taking.

“It was a great shot,” CSUB coach Rod Barnes said. “The great thing about it was, it wasn’t an abnormal play. He does a job of shooting mid-range shots. From the time he let it go, I knew it was going in.”

The game went back and forth with eight lead changes and five ties. CSUB (12-16, 7-5 WAC) had an advantage of 18-12 in the paint, but went into halftime down 29-25.

However, CSUB bounced back in the second half by getting even more shots inside.

The ’Runners shot 57.1 percent from the court in the second half and dominated the paint even more in that period of play (22-4). Despite that advantage, the game stayed close throughout the game but the ’Runners made just one more play than the Kangaroos.

This win against UMKC (11-13, 6-5 WAC) puts CSUB in sole position of second place in the WAC.

“It was a big win for us,” Airington said. “We moved into second place, but we need to win on out. That was huge, so hopefully we can meet New Mexico State in the [WAC] Championship. We just got to keep winning.”

Junior forward Kevin Mays finished with 15 points and six rebounds and Ahmed added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

On Feb. 19, the Roadrunners beat the Chicago State University Cougars 64-51 in the Icardo Center.

CSUB never trailed in the game thanks to 11-of-20 shooting from beyond the three-point line and because of a strong defensive performance.

“It was nice,” redshirt-senior guard Javonte Maynor, who finished with 21 points, said of the win. “That little cushion helped us out a lot.”

CSU tried to run a 1-3-1 zone to give the ’Runners some confusion on offense, but it was ineffective.

“The 1-3-1 they run is different from the one New Mexico State runs because they have smaller guards, so you can catch and shoot it easier over them,” he said.

Though CSUB never trailed in the game, the ’Runners were just holding on to a 28-23 lead heading into halftime. But they responded with an 11-2 run to start and the Roadrunners cruised past the Cougars for a much-needed WAC win.

“I thought it was a mark of our team that it has improved,” Barnes said. “They have a lot of confidence. I think our shooters deserve it. They have been in the gym a lot.”

CSUB will play at Seattle University on Feb. 25.