Saturday night the CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team (21-7, WAC 12-1) clinched the program's first WAC regular season title thanks to a 69-49 win over Chicago State (6-23, 1-12).
The past 12 months have been filled with firsts for the Runners. After its first WAC Tournament title was followed by a first trip to the NCAA Tournament, this year's team has continued that momentum. The team is 12-0 inside the Icardo Center riding a 17 game home winning streak dating back to last year.
"It's one of the best teams I've ever coached in a sense of guys sharing, working with each other, sacrificing for the whole," head coach Rod Barnes said after the win. "I feel honored, humbled to be a part of it."
Damiyne Durham was 7-14 from the field leading all scorers with 18 points. CSUB blocked 13 shots, a school record at the D-I level.
After the win players were given shirts reading "2017 WAC regular season champs" but Barnes is already telling his players to want more. "We gotta get back to the NCAA Tournament," he said. "In that, I told them (his team) things are going to happen. We're going to have some firsts but this is not the one that's the ultimate deal."
The Runners close out the regular season hosting Grand Canyon (21-9, 10-3) in search of a perfect home record on March 4th with tip off set for 7:00 PM.
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