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Bakersfield, CA - Damiyne Durham came off the bench to score 28 points and lead CSU Bakersfield to an 81-79 win over Portland State at the Icardo Center.
The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Vikings. PSU dropped to 3-4 on the season. The Roadrunners improved to 7-4, 5-0 at home.
Portland State also got a great bench performance as Deontae North came in to score a PSU season-high 25 points and grab seven rebounds. North hit 9-13 from the field, 2-4 three-pointers, 5-7 at the line and also had four steals.
The Vikings were down 15 points with less than seven minutes to play, and still trailed by 10 with 1:30 left in the game but still made it close. A three-pointer by Zach Gengler, a four-point play by Bryce Canda and a tip-in by North in the final minute got the Vikings back within four. North hit a three with two seconds left, but Bakersfield was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock.
Durham scored 19 of his 28 in the second half. For the game he made 9-16 shots, 7-13 from three-point range and 3-5 at the line.
PSU got 12 points and six rebounds from De'Sean Parsons. Gengler, Calaen Robinson and Traylin Farris each scored 11 points.
Bakersfield hit three straight three-point field goals midway through the first half to take a 25-17 lead. The Vikings came back to tie it 31-31 at the 3:55 mark on an old-school three-point play by Farris. By halftime, the Runners were ahead 36-35.
With 17:31 left to play, Portland State took its first lead since early in the game. Canda hit a short shot in the lane and the Vikings were up 39-38. But Durham ignited the Runners who reeled off 15 straight points to take charge. The Vikings went scoreless for five minutes. Durham scored eight points in the run, including a pair of three-pointers.
Bakersfield led the rest of the way and were up by double figures until the last two minutes.
Bakersfield outshot the Vikings .491 to .452 in the game. The Roadrunners also won the rebound battle, 40-32. PSU hurt its cause by making just 15-27 at the free throw line (.556).
Going into the game, the Roadrunners had been one of the best defensive teams in the nation, allowing only 58.6 points and .361 shooting by opponents.
Jaylin Airington added 19 points for the Runners and James Suber grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
GAME NOTES: Portland State did not have leading scorer Braxton Tucker for the second straight game due to knee soreness… CSUB leads the all-time series, 3-2… CSU Bakersfield was an NCAA Tournament team last year, winning the WAC. The Roadrunners finished with a 24-9 record… the Vikings will host New Hope Christian College on Tuesday at the Stott Center. Gave time is 7:05 p.m. Live video, audio and stats can be found at GoViks.com.
