Reporter

In its first game of the season, the CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball team beat Bristol University 108-63 in an exhibition game on Nov. 7 at the Icardo Center.
“Well, we’re glad to get back to the floor. We still got a lot of work to improve on,” said CSUB head coach Rod Barnes. “We got a lot of new guys on our team and it going to take us a little while to be what we know that we can be but it’s a good team, got good chemistry, have very good pieces but we got to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
The Roadrunners had an attacking presence throughout the game and played with a high tempo-fast-paced offense. They shot 59.4 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from outside the three-point.
CSUB’s junior guard Dedrick Basile finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists
“I think we really improved defensively,” said senior forward Kevin Mays. “Like helping each other out, communicating and hedging screens.
“We shot the ball a lot better than we’ve been shooting.”
The Roadrunners forced 22 turnovers and had 12 steals in the game.
The biggest contributor for the Roadrunners was redshirt freshman guard Damiyne Durham who had 27 points. Durham shot 10-19 overall and 7-13 from beyond the three-point line.
Durham is a transfer from Baylor where he redshirted a season there.
“I think we are a really good offensive team,” said senior center Aly Ahmed. “We just need to get everybody in the mix you know. We just can’t have like one or two mistakes every play.
“We’re working on that and I think we’re getting better every day and this team looks really good so I think we’re going to have a great year.”
CSUB is now looking to take this game and transition the good play into the season.
This is what the Roadrunners needed to lift them and show what kind of team they are this year.
“I think (this game) kind of gives us confidence to know that we’ve got a lot of good pieces,” said Barnes. “But like I said we’ve got a lot of work still.
“We’ve got to defend better (and) we’ve got to rebound better.”
The Roadrunners will play next on Nov. 14 against San Diego Christian University at 7 p.m. at the Icardo Center.