BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield evened the season series 1-1 with a win over South Dakota Tuesday night inside Icardo Center in Bakersfield, California. The Roadrunners ran past the Coyotes 96-76 after the Yotes defeated them just 10 days ago in Vermillion 78-73.
 
CSU Bakersfield (5-6) was led by a career-high 28-point performance from guard Kaleb Higgins. Higgins went 10-of-18 from the field and knocked down 7-of-8 free throw attempts while dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds.
 
The Roadrunners outrebounded the Yotes for the second time this season, bringing down 34 boards that resulted in 20 second chance points.
 
Kaleb Stewart made his return to the starting lineup for South Dakota (7-5) and put up a team-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and knocked down two triples. Senior forward Lahat Thioune added 15 points to record his eighth double-figure scoring game of the season. Thioune went 5-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
 
Cal State Bakersfield was ready to even the score against the Yotes and came out to an early 18-8 lead with 15 minutes to play in the first half. Modestas Kancleris had a strong first half for the 'Runners, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the first 20 minutes on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from beyond the arc. Jaden Alexander drove in a buzzing-beating layup just before halftime to give the 'Runners a 50-32 lead heading into the break. CSU Bakersfield came out of the break held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
 
South Dakota shot the ball well in the first half and shot even better in the second half, but just didn't have an answer for a hot Roadrunner offense that was shooting over 80 percent from three in the first half. CSU Bakersfield forced 15 Coyote turnovers and scored 21 points of those. The 'Runners led by as many as 31 midway through the second half and South Dakota could not get the lead below 18.   
 
South Dakota heads to take on San Diego in the final game of its three-game California road trip. The Coyotes tip off against the Toreros on Thursday at 9 p.m. central time.