HAYWARD, Calif. – In its final road game of the regular season, the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (16-9, 15-5 CCAA) fell 75-70 to Cal State East Bay (11-15, 9-11 CCAA) on Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Gymnasium.
TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 17 points | 4 rebounds | 2 assists
Jayce McCain – 14 points | 4 assists | 2 rebounds
Quinn Denker – 13 points | 6 rebounds | 2 assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUSM began the game down 14-2 at the 15:39 mark.
The Cougars quickly made it a two-point game at 15-13 with an 11-1 run that was capped off with a McCain 3-pointer at 12:52 in the first half.
A driving layup by Milton knotted the game at 21-all with 7:02 left in the period.
CSUSM took its first lead of the game at 23-21 on a driving layup by Zack Perlstein with 4:47 to go in the half.
A 3-pointer by Perlstein gave the Cougars their largest lead of the half at 28-23 with 3:43 remaining.
The Pioneers ended the first period on a 9-2 run and recaptured the lead at 32-30 heading into the break.
CSUSM shot slightly better from the field in the first half at 47.8% (11-of-23) compared to CSUEB’s 44.8% (13-of-29).
The Cougars began the second half on a 16-2 run that was capped by a McCain 3-pointer with 14:37 remaining to make it 46-34.
With CSUSM up by 10 at 57-47 following an Edwyn Collins 3-pointer with 9:15 to go, East Bay made its move with a 16-3 run to retake the lead at 63-60 after a James 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the game.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Milton tied the game at 63 with 3:14 to play.
A 9-2 run by the Pioneers gave them a seven-point lead at 72-65 following a White free throw with 1:41 to go.
CSUSM brought the deficit down to 72-70 with 3-pointer by Lyle Sutton and two free throws by Milton, but that was as close as the Cougars came to East Bay’s lead as the Pioneers ended the game with three good free throws.
East Bay shot 51.7% (15-of-29) from the field in the second half while CSUSM came in at 50% (15-of-30).
FAST BREAKS
The Cougars ended up outshooting the Pioneers 49.1% (26-of-53) to 48.3% (28-of-58).
CSUEB made 12 of its 23 3-point field goals (52.2%) while CSUSM was 7-of-19 (36.8%). The Pioneers’ percentage was the highest by a Cougar opponent this season.
The Cougars had the lead for 16:56 while the Pioneers clocked in at 18:24.
CSUSM scored 15 points off East Bay’s 13 turnovers.
The Pioneers won the battle at the glass at 37-25 while earning 12 offensive boards.
The Cougars took the steal category at 8-4.
The game featured six lead changes and four ties.
This was CSUSM’s fourth consecutive loss when playing CSUEB in Hayward.
East Bay’s Payden White led all scorers with 18 points.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will play its next-to-last game of the regular season against Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday at The Sports Center.
