Perry, Roadrunners fall to Rio Grande Valley

EDINBURG, Texas – CSU Bakersfield earned a halftime lead over UT Rio Grande Valley in Saturday night's Western Athletic Conference road game thanks to a hot offensive start. The visiting Roadrunners were unable to keep the fire going in the second half and eventually fell to the Vaqueros, 70-59, in the UTRGV Fieldhouse.

“It's a disappointing loss,” said CSUB Head Coach Rod Barnes. “We came off a great effort against New Mexico State, but we have to figure this out… They were way more aggressive than we were. We were not tough and that's my responsibility… Our performance tonight wasn't indicative of the kind of work we have done, the players we have, or the coaches we have.”

On the game, junior forward Greg Lee paced the `Runners with 18 points and six rebounds. Junior center Ronne Readus chipped in seven points and five rebounds off the bench while point guard Czar Perry, of El Dorado, added 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

CSUB started the game hot, shooting 52 percent from the field in the first half. The `Runners were unable to keep that momentum going, converting on just 25 percent of their shots in the second period. Bakersfield also suffered a large disparity in free throws, sinking 13-of-15 of their own, but watching UTRGV make 29-of-45 on the night.

The `Runners came out of the gate hot, jumping out to an 11-2 advantage over their hosts. Bakersfield continued to surge and eventually led by as many as 11 points at 23-12. UTRGV answered back with a 10-2 run to pull within three points at 25-22 before Lee cut off the spurt with his second jumper of the game.

Lee heated up down the stretch, scoring all of his game-high nine points over the final eight minutes of the first period. The junior forward capped his strong, firsthalf performance by hitting a deep three-pointer just before time expired. The shot sent Bakersfield to the locker room with a 34-29 advantage.

CSUB tallied 11 assists on its 14 first-half field goals while shooting 52 percent from the field.