ArcATA, Calif. – A strong first half set the tempo for the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team as it handed third-place Humboldt State its first home loss of the season with a 91-72 victory in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Thursday night at Lumberjack Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Dalton Soffer – 23 points | 5-of-8 from three
Darae Elliott – 20 points | 9 rebounds
JR Williams – 16 points | 5 steals
Khalil Fuller – 10 points
Bryce Sloan – 9 assists | 8 points
HOW IT HAPPENED •CSUSM went to the locker room with its largest halftime lead of the season at 41-29.
•Soffer led the Cougars with 15 points in the first 20 minutes as he went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc.
•CSUSM shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field in the first half while holding HSU to 35.7 percent (10-of-28).
•Only 12 of the Cougars’ 41 points in the first half came in the paint as CSUSM was 8-of-13 (61.5%) from downtown.
•HSU only got within five points of CSUSM’s lead in the second half on three separate occasions.
•The Cougars posted their largest lead of the game at 90-68 after a layup by Patrick Sniff.
•CSUSM led for just over 38 minutes while HSU only led for 25 seconds.
FAST BREAKS •CSUSM improves to 5-13 (2-10 CCAA) while HSU drops to 14-7 (8-5 CCAA).
•The Cougars set season highs for points (91), field-goal percentage (52.6), 3-point field-goal percentage (58.8) and assists (18) while tying their high for rebounds (41).
•This is CSUSM’s second consecutive win over HSU in Arcata.
•The Cougars’ starting five accounted for 77 of the team’s 91 points while only 30 points were scored in the paint.
•Sloan set a career high for assists as he finished with nine.
•Soffer’s 23 points and five 3-point field goals made were a career high.
•Williams tied his season high for steals with five.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will conclude its three-week road trip on Saturday night at Chico State. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
