LACEY, Wash. – The No. 13/18 Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (0-2) concluded the opening weekend of action with a 68-64 loss to Montana State Billings (2-0) on Saturday morning at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin’s University.
TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 18 points | 2 steals | 2 assists
Zack Perlstein – 10 points | 4 assists
Joel Mensah – 8 points | 6 rebounds | 2 blocks
Jayce McCain – 5 assists | 5 rebounds | 3 points | 2 steals
HOW IT HAPPENED
MSUB began the contest with its largest lead of the game at 12-2 following a layup by Steven Richardson with 15:38 to go in the half.
A 16-5 run by CSUSM gave the Cougars their first lead of the game at 18-17 after a fast break layup by McCain with 7:37 to go in the period.
The Cougars concluded an eight-point scoring run with a 3-point basket by Quinn Denker to make it 21-17 with 7:03 to play.
CSUSM took its largest lead of the game at seven points with a 3-pointer by Perlstein at the 5:49 mark of the period to make it 26-19.
A 10-3 run by the Yellowjackets whittled the Cougars’ lead to one at 30-29 after a Bilal Shabazz 3-pointer with 3:19 to go in the half.
A pull-up jumper from Edwyn Collins gave CSUSM a 36-31 lead with 29 seconds to go, but the Cougars ended up going to the locker room with 36-33 lead after a driving layup by MSUB’s Carrington Wiggins just before the buzzer.
The Cougars shot an even 50% (14-of-28) in the first half while the Yellowjackets came out shooting 59.1% (13-of-22).
Billings tied and then took a one-point lead at 44-43 as Shabazz made a pair of free throws at the 14:01 mark of the second half.
After CSUSM briefly retook the lead at 45-44 following a pull-up jumper by Milton with 13:40 to play, MSUB went on a 10-point run to go up 54-45 with 9:17 to go.
The Cougars brought the deficit down to three at 63-60 with a 3-pointer by Denker with 2:11 to play, but it was as close as they came to the Yellowjackets’ lead as MSUB ended up taking the game 68-64.
MSUB outrebounded CSUSM by a 25-12 margin in the second half and was 13-0 on fast breaks.
FAST BREAKS
CSUSM outshot MSUB from the field (46.4%-45.1%) and from beyond the arc (36.8%-26.3%).
The Cougars ended the game with just two fast-break points while the Yellowjackets had 24.
Billings also had the advantage in rebounds at 35-24.
MSUB’s Richardson led the game with 20 points.
This was CSUSM’s first loss to MSUB after taking the first two meetings last year in San Marcos.
This is the Cougars’ first 0-2 start to a season since its inaugural campaign in 2011-12.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will return to The Sports Center for its home opener against Central Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m.
