LOS ANGELES – Overcoming a large first-half deficit, the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (1-4, 1-0 CCAA) started CCAA play with a 78-64 victory over Cal State LA (3-4, 0-1 CCAA) on Saturday afternoon at University Gym.
TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 22 points | 6 rebounds | 2 steals
Joel Mensah – 12 points | 7 rebounds
Jayce McCain – 12 points | 3 assists
Lyle Sutton – 11 points | 5 assists | 2 steals
Zack Perlstein – 10 points | 5 assists | 3 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars began the game down 16-0 at the 13:36 mark after a pair of free throws by LA’s Adrease Jackson.
Trailing 19-4, CSUSM went on a 12-0 run to bring the Cougars within three at 19-16 following a Milton layup with 6:50 to play in the period.
A McCain jumper knotted the game at 24-all with 3:06 to play in the half.
Tied at 26, another Milton layup gave CSUSM its first lead of the game at 28-26 with 1:24 to go in the period.
A last-second layup by McCain sent the Cougars to the locker room with a 30-28 lead.
CSUSM ended the half shooting 45.2% (14-of-31) from the field while LA clocked in at 40% (10-of-25).
Edwyn Collins led the Cougars with nine points in the opening period.
The Golden Eagles gobbled up the first-half rebounds at a 22-12 margin.
After LA opened up the second half with a hook shot by Jared Pearre to tie the game at 30-all, CSUSM scored 13 consecutive points to go up 43-30 with 16:03 to play.
CSUSM continued the onslaught by going up 55-32 with a 3-pointer by Perlstein with 11:57 to go.
Another 3-pointer by Perlstein with 9:22 remaining gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game at 24 points at 60-34.
Down 66-50, LA cut CSUSM’s lead to single digits with an 8-0 run that was capped by a pair of Dominic Escobar free throws.
The Golden Eagles came no closer as the Cougars ended the game with a 14-point lead.
CSUSM shot 64% (16-of-25) from the field in the second half while LA came in at 48.1% (13-of-27).
FAST BREAKS
CSUSM ended the game shooting 53.6% (30-of-56) from the field while LA came in at 44.2% (23-of-52).
The Golden Eagles committed 22 turnovers compared to the Cougars’ 13.
CSUSM posted 13 steals while LA had just three.
The Cougars scored 25 points off Golden Eagle turnovers.
Leading just 22 seconds in the first half, CSUSM ended up leading the game for 20:11 while LA clocked in at 17:17.
Milton’s 22 points led all scorers.
Milton has led the Cougars in scoring for all five games while Mensah has led the way in rebounds.
Perlstein’s five assists were a career high while Sutton’s five steals were also a career best.
CSUSM has now won four consecutive games against LA and is 7-5 in the all-time series.
The Cougars’ 12-point win tied their largest margin of victory in the series.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will play the third game of its four-game road trip by traveling to Stanislaus State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
