TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

It was as expected Saturday night in the Icardo Center.

Cal State Bakersfield dominated Division III La Verne University from the start and coasted to a 69-49 win before 915.

CSUB senior guard Stephon Carter provided the highlight of the night by passing one of the Roadrunners' all-time greats to move from fourth into a second-place tie on CSUB's all-time scoring list.

Carter had 26 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. He passed one-time NBA player Kebu Stewart and a few minutes later caught Beau Redstone.

With 1,301 career points, the same as Redstone (who played from 1988-92), only Kenny Warren (1,521) is ahead on the all-time list.

Carter said he did not know he was closing in on Stewart or Redstone heading into Saturday's game.

"I try my hardest not to think about it," said Carter, who came to CSUB after a standout high school career at Garces. "I just want to play basketball and do what's best for the team."

Carter acknowledged it was difficult ignoring it when it was announced over the PA system that he had passed Stewart.

"We want him to get that," said CSUB senior forward Adam Young, who had 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. "I want him to get every record. But deep down inside I want to get his scoring record (for an individual game)."

CSUB coach Rod Barnes said he wasn't aware of Carter's approaching the Stewart and Redstone marks.

"It's more about our team playing well," Barnes said. "He is playing well. We're putting pressure on him. Every night he's got to go out and score and he's responded well."

Carter is being asked to do so much because of the rash of injuries in the Roadrunner backcourt, Barnes said. Guards Issiah Grayson and Zach Lamb have been lost for the season.

"I'm trying to get the best I can out of him," Barnes said. "I'm pushing him as hard as I can."

CSUB (4-6) led all the way. The Roadrunners scored the game's first nine points and used a 12-2 run in the final 2:50 of the first half to lead 35-20 at halftime.

The lead hovered from 19 to 24 points for much of the second half. The lead never dropped below 18 over the final 17 minutes.

La Verne (1-6) had 24 turnovers and CSUB had 17.

"The hardest thing is staying ready for a game like this," Young said. "We are fortunate they played really hard. That opened our eyes."

The Leopards hustled throughout the game but simply lacked the size and athleticism of the Roadrunners.

"We came out early and really got after them," Barnes said. "That set the tone. We lost our focus there when our team thought it was real easy.

"They're a scrappy bunch. I told our guys we could not let them out-hustle us or outplay us."

CSUB leaves today for Portland, where the Roadrunners play the University of Portland on Monday and then play at Colorado State on Wednesday as part of the four-game Las Vegas Classic.

"Whenever you win, it helps," Barnes said. "We ran some different things we've been working on in practice. We ran some different plays and we put guys in different positions."

Barnes added: "We got to put some different people on the floor. We're going to need them this week. ... We handled this game they way we were supposed to and now we feel good about ourselves.

"Portland's a good team and it's a tough place to go."

Brandon Barnes scored 12 ponts and Tyrone White added 10 points for CSUB. Jake Veith had 12 ponts and Vince Bauer scored 11 for La Verne.