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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Chicago State Cougars improved to 4-1 in the Western Athletic Conference after defeating the Bakersfield Roadrunners 71-63 at the Icardo Center on Thursday evening (Jan. 23). Junior
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) led the Cougars with 21 points including 14 in the second half as the Cougars never trailed in the final 20 minutes.
Senior
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Senior
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) also had 14 points while senior
Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower) pitched in 10 points in the victory. They helped the Cougars move to 3-0 in WAC road games this season.
Chicago State started the game at feverish pace jumping out to an 11-3 lead after a senior
Markus Starks (Calumet City, Ill./Wirt (Ind.))' tip in at the 14:39 mark of the first half. Two straight Issiah Grayson 3-pointers for Bakersfield gave the Roadrunners their first lead of the game at 18-17 with 6:27 left in the first stanza. Over the next five minutes of game action, the teams traded the lead seven times.
After exchanging buckets to begin the second half, the Cougars went on a 12-2 run to lead 47-36, their largest lead of the game, with 12:49 remaining. Bakersfield would not go away and answered with their own 12-2 run and cut the deficit back to one at 49-48 after a Grayson layup at the 7:01 mark. Up by one with 5:53 left, Ross scored five straight points to push Chicago State's lead back to six at the 5:07 mark. The Roadrunners would get no closer than four for the rest of the game as
Tracy Dildy's squad sank 11-of-12 free throws over the final 3:34 of the game.
Dildy pointed to Ross' five consecutive points as a game changing sequence.
"That's all about senior leadership," said the fourth year head coach. "Matt came up with big shots for us in that spot."
Grayson led the Roadrunners with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Stefon Johnson chipped in 12 points and five rebounds in the loss.
Chicago State finished the game 20-of-27 from the line with an 18-of-22 performance in the second half.
The Cougars improve to 4-1 in the WAC and 9-10 overall while Bakersfield falls to 8-11 and 1-4 in the conference. Chicago State will take on the first place Utah Valley Wolverines on Saturday (Jan. 25). Tip is set for 7 pm MT. The game can be watched online for free. Find the link on GoCSUCougars.com
