Key matchup: Kaleb Higgins returns as Cal State Bakersfield’s go-to scorer after season-ending meniscus injury

On the heels of eight consecutive losses, Cal State Bakersfield was on the cusp of winning for the first time in 50 days when junior guard Kaleb Higgins tore his meniscus driving to the basket midway through the first half of a Jan. 5, 2023, game against Cal Poly.

The Roadrunners still managed to snap out of their slump, but lost their top scorer and playmaker in the process before dropping 13 of their final 19 games.

Higgins is back healthy and still the go-to option for Cal State Bakersfield, which enters Tuesday’s game at No. 11 Gonzaga (6 p.m. KHQ) with a respectable 3-3 record after facing a pair of Pac-12 opponents in Cal and USC.

A Pine Bluff, Arkansas, native who started his career at Holmes (Mississippi) Community College, Higgins is not only leading the Roadrunners in scoring, his 16.2 points per game are double the team’s next-best scoring average – 8.0 ppg from forward Ugnius Jarusevicius.

Coming off knee surgery, Higgins tallied a career-high 27 points in his return to the court, making 11 of 23 shots from the field to help the Roadrunners pull off a 73-72 win over Southern Utah on Nov. 6. Higgins stepped up to make two free throws with no time remaining to help CSUB prevail.

“It was great, I missed it, I got a little teary eyed when I got on the court today,” he said.

Higgins has cooled off since opening night, and Tarleton State recently held the point guard to just four points on 0 of 6 from the field while limiting the Roadrunners to 15 of 45 from the field and 1 of 17 from the 3-point line in a 59-40 CSUB loss.

It’s a safe bet to assume Higgins, who’s been the team’s top scorer in five of six games this season, will get more than six shots up Tuesday against the Zags. He’s averaging 14.8 field goal attempts per game, leading CSUB by a wide margin in that category. Marvin McGhee III ranks second in shot attempts at only 7.8 per game.

Gonzaga’s starting backcourt won’t have a height advantage most nights, but Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman both stand at least two inches taller than the 5-foot-10 Higgins. Nembhard should get the primary defensive assignment against Higgins on Tuesday, but don’t be surprised if Mark Few tries to keep the point guard’s minutes down after he averaged 37.6 per game at the Maui Invitational.