SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A low-scoring affair saw the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (9-7, 8-3 CCAA) come away with a 56-48 win against Cal State East Bay (4-13, 2-9 CCAA) on Thursday night at The Sports Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 20 points | 6 rebounds | 3 steals
Joel Mensah – 14 points | 8 rebounds | 1 assist
Chase Bowsher – 7 points | 2 rebounds | 1 assist
Jayce McCain – 6 points | 5 assists | 3 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pioneers took their largest lead of the first half at the 8:39 mark on a Dimitrios Klonaras layup to make it 17-10.
CSUSM responded with a 9-2 run before CSUEB closed out the half with a 3-pointer by Kevin Ebiriekwe to make it 22-19 Pioneers.
Despite trailing by only three points at the half, the Cougars shot 27.6% (8-of-29) while the Pioneers went 50% (9-of-18).
CSUSM tallied six steals in the first 20 minutes and forced CSUEB to commit 12 turnovers.
The Cougars took their first lead of the second half on the front end of a Bowsher made free throw before extending it to 28-24 on Milton’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 15:45 to go.
CSUSM took its largest lead of the game with 10:28 left as McCain made a free throw following an East Bay technical foul for flopping to make it 39-28.
With the Cougars up 47-37 at the 5:24 mark after a second-chance layup by Milton, East Bay went on 8-0 run to close CSUSM’s lead to 47-45 with 3:16 remaining.
CSUSM was able to hang onto its slim cushion and came away with an eight-point win.
The Cougars had a much better shooting performance in the second half at 48.1% (13-of-27) while the Pioneers came in at 30.4% (7-of-23).
FAST BREAKS
CSUSM’s 56 points were the second-fewest its ever scored in a win. The fewest came in the Cougars’ inaugural season when they came away with a 51-46 victory at Pomona-Pitzer on Jan. 3, 2012.
The Cougars’ 56 points were the fewest they’ve scored against the Pioneers in all 13 meetings.
The Cougars tallied just 10 turnovers to the Pioneers’ 23 – the most by a CSUSM opponent this season.
The Pioneers’ 48 points were the fewest allowed by the Cougars this season.
East Bay finished the game shooting 39% (16-of-41) while holding CSUSM to 37.5% (21-of-56).
This was Milton’s seventh game of the season with 20-plus points and the 12th game in which he has been or tied as the team’s leading scorer.
East Bay had the lead for 19:44 while CSUSM came in at 17:02.
CSUSM is now 10-3 in the all-time series against East Bay and 7-0 against the Pioneers when playing at home.
With the victory against CSUEB and losses by Sonoma State and Cal Poly Humboldt, CSUSM now has second place all to itself in the CCAA standings with 11 games remaining.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will round out the weekend by facing Cal State Dominguez Hills (8-9, 4-7 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in The Sports Center.
