SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (5-5) closed out its non-conference schedule and the 2022 calendar year with an 86-75 victory over Seattle Pacific (6-4) on Saturday night at The Sports Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Joel Mensah – 20 points | 10-of-11 FG | 4 rebounds
Greg Milton III – 18 points | 3 assists | 3 steals | 4 rebounds
Zack Perlstein – 16 points | 4 assists | 3 rebounds
Quinn Denker – 16 points | 3 assists | 2 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
After SPU began the game with a 4-0 lead, CSUSM went on an 8-0 run and went up 8-4 on a Mensah jumper with 17:03 remaining in the period.
CSUSM went up by nine at 24-15 on a Donovan Watkins layup with 11:07 to play in the half, but seven consecutive points by SPU cut the Cougars’ lead to 24-22 with 8:53 to go.
The Cougars grabbed their double-digit lead for good at 36-24 on a Perlstein 3-pointer with 4:47 left in the period.
CSUSM earned its largest lead of the period at 16 points on a jumper from Milton to go up 42-26 with 2:32 remaining in the half.
CSUSM ended the first half with a 44-32 lead over SPU after shooting 70.4% (19-of-27) from the floor while the Falcons came in at 53.6% (15-of-28).
The Cougars were 80% (4-of-5) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes while the Falcons came in at 25% (2-of-8).
Mensah led all scorers with 16 points in the half after going a perfect 8-of-8 from the field in just under 13 minutes of play.
CSUSM kept up its double-digit lead and eventually took its largest lead of the game at 22 points with a fast break layup by Milton to go up 84-62 with 4:50 remaining.
The Falcons closed out the game on a 13-2 run, but the Cougars’ big lead was too much to overcome as they took the 86-75 win.
FAST BREAKS
Ending the game shooting 90.9% (10-of-11), Mensah tied the CSUSM single-game field-goal percentage record held by Joe Boyd, who also went 10-of-11 against Redlands on Nov. 15, 2016.
Shooting 67.9% (36-of-53) as a team, CSUSM also broke the program’s single-game field-goal percentage record. The previous high was 64.2% (34-of-53) against San Diego Christian on Nov. 12, 2019.
Playing in his 63rd career game as a Cougar, Jayce McCain tied Adam Eakles’ (2012-14) program record for most games played in a CSUSM uniform.
The Cougars tallied 17 assists to the Falcons’ 12.
Committing 11 turnover to SPU’s 13, CSUSM has had fewer turnovers than its opponents in the past 14 games.
Both sides tallied 23 rebounds.
CSUSM’s 86 points and 36 made field goals were both season highs.
Mensah’s game-leading 20 points were a career high while Denker’s 16 points were also a career high.
This was the first-ever meeting between CSUSM and SPU.
Head Coach B.J. Foster joined @JonathanRifkind to discuss the Cougars’ 11-point win over Seattle Pacific to close out non-conference play. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/5gGyJdsVRf
– CSUSM Men’s Basketball (@CSUSM_MBB) December 18, 2022
UP NEXT
A New Year’s Day contest awaits CSUSM as it hosts Cal State LA to continue CCAA action at 3 p.m. in The Sports Center.
