Men’s basketball: 10 days ago, the Bakersfield Renegades men’s basketball team (12-7, 2-3 Western State Conference – South Division) ended an eight-year drought as they went down to Glendora for a WSC showdown with the Citrus Owls (10-7, 3-2 WSC) in ‘The Owl’s Nest’ and came out victorious.
10 days later, the Renegades have found themselves in a deep hole that will take three straight games on the road starting today at Canyons (3 p.m.) to perhaps regain some of that early season success during a crucial stretch.
Despite losing the third-leading scorer (7.5 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (4.9 rpg) on the club, sophomore Alex Daniels – due to a knee injury to begin conference – guys like David Wooley, who recorded a double-double (10 points, 14 rebounds) in the 68-61 win over the Owls, and CJ Johnson, have managed to step up and fill in.
However, back-to-back losses at home to teams with losing records in the past week: Santa Monica (7-10, 2-3 WSC) and Glendale (2-14, 1-4 WSC), the biggest loss may have been to Bakersfield’s freshman big man, Deandre Dickson, who missed the game against Glendale due to an ankle injury sustained earlier in practice.
Dickson is not only the team leader in points, rebounds and blocks, but 12th in the state for points (18.4 ppg) and third in the state for rebounds (12.4 rpg).
“We’ve been our own worst enemy the last two nights,” head coach Rich Hughes said after the 78-69 loss to Glendale. “We got it handed to us at home to two under .500 teams.”
Hughes is expecting some “soul-searching” but after missing five games, Daniels will return today – as well as Dickson – after missing just one game.
Key notes: Renegades are currently tied for fourth in the WSC- South at 2-3 with Canyons (both teams play each other today), LA Valley (BAK currently owns tiebreaker – next meeting: Jan. 31 at LAV), and Santa Monica (SM currently owns tiebreaker – next meeting: Feb. 11 at SM).
Prediction: This is a must-win situation for the Renegades as they bring back two key players back in the lineup. Bakersfield will also face conference-leading Antelope Valley (currently ranked 7th in the state) in the second game of this three-game road trip, so a win today should boost the players’ confidence to go into an opposing gym and come out on top. Bakersfield 77, Canyons 70.
Women’s basketball: Just two days after a 21-point loss, the biggest of the storied Renegades women’s basketball season to visiting Santa Monica (13-6, 4-1 Western State Conference – South Division) on Jan. 17, Bakersfield (14-3, 3-2 WSC) climbed back into the CCCWBCA State Rankings list after being unranked since the Dec. 22 poll.
Ranked 18th in the state and jumping up three slots to 11 in the South Region Poll, the Renegades also have followed the trend of the men’s team as they have as well dropped both home games to Santa Monica and Glendale.
Prior to their first back-to-back losing skid of the season, Bakersfield opened up conference play with three straights victories over LA Valley, West LA, and Citrus during the first half of January.
Head coach Paula Dahl believes her team enjoys playing on the road, and will indeed have to do so this coming week, as they look to get back to the top of the standings.
BC will take on Canyons (13-7, 3-2 WSC) today at 5 p.m. with a chance to take control of third place trailing just Glendale and Santa Monica.
Key notes: Nakia Page has been making her presence felt, but if the Renegades look to bounce back, it will take more than just Page. Claesey Tarver and Rosebrooke Hunt have been major contributors all season, but haven’t been in double-digit scoring for the past three games as the team went 1-2 during that stretch.
Predicition: Just like Bakersfield, Canyons also have a pair of six-footers who can easily get it going in Monica Friedl (12.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and Hannah Green (16.0 ppg). If the Renegades can contain both girls, they should also be able to get back to their winning ways and remain unbeaten on the road. Bakersfield 73, Canyons 65.