SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (8-7, 7-3 CCAA) will begin a four-game homestand by facing Cal State East Bay (4-12, 2-8 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Cal State Dominguez Hills (8-8, 4-6 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in The Sports Center.
LAST WEEK
The Cougars earned a 78-63 win at Sonoma State last Thursday behind Greg Milton III’s 22 points.
CSUSM capped off the road trip with a 68-63 victory at Cal Poly Humboldt with Quinn Denker leading the way with 21 points.
The Cougars moved into a three-way tie for second place in the CCAA standings with Cal Poly Humboldt and Sonoma State.
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS
CSUSM has the 12th-best 3-point field goal percentage in Division II at 41.1.
The Cougars are forcing the most turnovers in the CCAA and rank 29th nationally.
Sporting a turnover margin of 3.1, CSUSM ranks second in the conference and 37th nationally.
With a team assist/turnover ratio of 1.25, the Cougars lead the CCAA and rank 43rd nationally.
CSUSM has the best scoring defense in the league at 67.5 points allowed per game.
The Cougars have the second-best team field-goal percentage at 47.2.
Outscoring the competition by 1.7 points per game, CSUSM has the third-best scoring margin in the CCAA.
Jayce McCain’s assist/turnover ratio of 2.59 ranks second in the CCAA and 31st nationally.
Greg Milton III continues to lead the CCAA in minutes per game at just over 35 while scoring the fourth-most points at 18.9.
Coming down with 8.3 rebounds per game, Joel Mensah ranks third in the league while also maintaining the conference’s second-best field-goal percentage at 56.7.
GAME 16 | CAL STATE EAST BAY
Date Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023
Time 7:30 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (8-7, 7-3 CCAA)
CSUEB (4-12, 2-8 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
THURSDAY AGAINST EAST BAY
East Bay ranks last in the CCAA standings at 2-8 and has lost its last five games.
This past weekend, the Pioneers fell 53-49 to San Francisco State before taking a 70-67 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay.
When playing East Bay in San Marcos, CSUSM is a perfect 6-0 and leads the all-time series at 9-3.
Last season, both games were each decided by two points as they each won on their home floors.
Four of the last five games against the Pioneers have been decided by four points or less.
Leading CSUEB at 15.3 points per game is Grady Lewis, who also leads the team in field-goal percentage (61.6%), rebounds per game (6.6) and blocked shots (11).
The Pioneers have the third-best field-goal percentage defense in the CCAA at 42.8.
East Bay ranks last in the CCAA for scoring offense (65.1) and scoring margin (-5.9).
GAME 17 | CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Date Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023
Time 3 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (8-7, 7-3 CCAA)
CSUDH (8-8, 4-6 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
SATURDAY AGAINST THE TOROS
Prior to Saturday’s game, Dominguez Hills will face Cal State LA on Thursday.
The Toros are currently tied with LA for eighth in the CCAA standings.
CSUDH is coming off a weekend that saw the Toros defeat Cal State Monterey Bay 75-64 last Thursday before falling 78-75 in overtime against San Francisco State on Saturday.
The Cougars and Toros are knotted at 5-5 in the all-time series and are 3-3 when playing in San Marcos.
CSUSM won last year’s lone meeting in The Sports Center by a score of 79-41 – the largest margin of victory in the series.
Dominguez Hills has the eighth-best 3-point field-goal percentage defense in the nation at 29%.
The Toros’ 3.1 blocks per game rank second in the CCAA.
CSUDH has the third-best scoring defense in the conference at 70.4 points allowed per game while having the fourth-best scoring offense at 71.2 points per game.
Damien Miller’s assist/turnover ratio of 3.35 ranks sixth nationally and leads the conference.
DJ Guest leads the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game while teammate Cameron Barry is just behind him at 13.4.
Guest also leads the Toros with 8.3 rebounds per game.
A NEW CAMPAIGN
The Cougars were voted to finish second in the 2022-23 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
Nine Cougars return from the 2021-22 team, including All-CCAA first-teamer Jayce McCain and second-teamer Greg Milton III.
CSUSM is joined this year by five transfers, including sophomore Quinn Denker (West Valley College), redshirt junior Edwyn Collins (Riverside City College), graduate Zack Perlstein (Cal State East Bay), redshirt junior Bing Huang (Johnson County CC) and redshirt junior Chris Howard (Palomar College).
Rounding out the Cougars’ roster of 15 is lone freshman Jermaine Rogers II (Ruben S. Ayala HS).
THE FOSTER FILE
Head coach B.J. Foster enters his sixth season in charge of the CSUSM Men’s Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
Under his leadership, the Cougars earned their first CCAA Tournament Championship in 2022 and made their first NCAA West Regional appearance.
Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
Foster has tallied a career record of 87-66 (.569).
