ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (7-7, 6-3 CCAA) got itself back in the win column with a 78-63 victory over Sonoma State (7-9, 6-3 CCAA) on Thursday night at The Wolves’ Den.
TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 22 points | 6 rebounds | 5 assists
Joel Mensah – 13 points | 6 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Quinn Denker – 13 points | 3 rebounds | 2 assists
Jayce McCain – 7 assists | 3 rebounds | 2 steals | 2 blocked shots | 2 points
Jack Schultz – 9 points | 2 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal
HOW IT HAPPENED
With 11:49 to go in the first half, CSUSM completed a 9-0 run with a made free throw by Donovan Watkins to give the Cougars an 18-13 lead.
A 9-0 run immediately after put the Seawolves back on top at 22-18 as Julian Bryant made a driving layup with 8:04 remaining in the period.
Tied at 27, two layups and a free throw by Mensah put CSUSM back on top at 32-27 with 1:30 to go in the half.
The Cougars ended the first 20 minutes with a 34-31 lead as both teams shot 44% (11-of-25) from the field.
CSUSM was 7-of-13 (53.8%) from downtown in the first half with Milton going 4-of-5.
Tied at 44 with 13:43 remaining, SSU briefly went ahead with a layup by Dillon Iyawe, but CSUSM charged back by taking its first double-digit lead of the game with a 14-2 run at 58-48 on a Milton fast-break jumper with 10:30 to go.
A 3-pointer by Lyle Sutton gave the Cougars a 12-point lead at 69-57 with 4:23 left in the second period.
CSUSM ended the game on a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the game by 15 points after Denker made two free throws to put the Cougars up 78-63 with 49 ticks remaining.
The Cougars shot 53.3% (16-of-30) from the field in the second half while holding the Seawolves to 36% (9-of-25).
CSUSM had the same percentage for 3-pointers in the second half at 53.3% after going 8-of-15.
FAST BREAKS
This was the Cougars’ sixth consecutive win over the Seawolves dating back to Feb. 23, 2019.
CSUSM tallied its fifth consecutive victory against SSU when playing in Rohnert Park.
The Cougars are now 9-3 in the all-time series against the Seawolves.
Of CSUSM’s 78 points, 36 came off the bench.
The Cougars ended the game shooting 49.1% (27-of-55) from the field compared to the Seawolves’ 40% (20-of-50).
CSUSM was 15-of-28 (53.6%) from 3-point range while SSU checked in at just 2-of-12 (16.7%).
The Cougars’ 15 made 3-pointers were the third-most in a single game in program history, just one off the school record.
Milton’s 85.7% (6-of-7) from 3-point land tied for the second best in program history (minimum six made).
This was Milton’s sixth game of the season with 20-plus points.
With his 58th career start, Jayce McCain now has the most starts in program history.
CSUSM’s 21 assists tied for its most this season.
The Cougars’ four blocked shots were the most this season.
CSUSM’s seven turnovers were its second fewest this season.
Both teams racked up 30 rebounds each.
SSU’s Jaylen Wells led the game with 30 points and was a perfect 14-of-14 from the charity stripe.
CSUSM is now in a three-way tie for third in the CCAA standings with Sonoma and Chico State.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will wrap up its four-game road trip by visiting second-place Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Arcata.
