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CHICAGO – Senior
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) recorded 18 points, five rebounds and four steals in Chicago State men's basketball's 73-68 victory over Bakersfield on Saturday (Feb. 22) afternoon in a Western Athletic Conference contest at the Jones Convocation Center.
"When Quinton is playing the way he did from the energy stand point, from a hustle stand point, from the rebounding and defensive stand point, were going to be hard to beat," Chicago State head coach
Tracy Dildy said. "We go as
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) goes."
Bakersfield's only lead of the game came at 2-0 to open the game. Chicago State used a 10-0 run in the first half to open a 17-7 lead. The Roadrunners didn't tie the game again until the 13:20 mark of the second half on a jumper by Issiah Grayson to make the score 50-50. Each time the Bakersfield made a run, the Cougars had an answer. First it was junior
Rahjan Muhammad (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley)'s 3-pointer to make it a 53-50 game. Following a Corey Hall layup to cut Chicago State's lead to 63-62, Pippen drained a pair of free throws. At 65-64, junior
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) found
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) on the right wing for a 3-pointer to put the Cougars back up by four points with 2:48 to play. The biggest offensive play of the game came with Chicago State up 68-67 and under a minute to play. Pippen delivered a bullet pass from the 3-point arc to Ross under the basket. Pippen's pass was just under the rim, allowing Ross to go up and finish the layup in one motion.
On the ensuing possession, Bakersfield's Javonte Maynor had a chance to tie it with a three but his attempt was off the mark. Muhammad made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to ice the game.
"We beat a really good team today, a team that was on a roll and a team that had won its last three games in conference," Dildy said. "This is a huge win for us."
The Cougars earned 10 steals and forced 19 turnovers thanks to heavy defensive pressure, especially in the first half. Chicago State shot 52.0 percent (26-of-50) from the floor while limiting Bakersfield to 45.1 percent (23-of-51) shooting.
Rosenberg totaled 16 points and like Pippen, added four steals. Senior
Eddie Denard (Chicago, Ill./Foreman) scored all 11 of his points in the first half to help the Cougars open the early lead. Muhammad added 11 points. Ross scored seven points, with five coming in the final two minutes.
Bakersfield falls to 12-15 (5-8 WAC). Chicago State improves to 11-15 (6-6 WAC). The Cougars have matched last season's win total with five games remaining in the regular season. Chicago State steps out of conference play on Monday for a trip to Eastern Illinois. The game can be heard on WVON 1690 AM with Emil Williams Jr. on the call.
