SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (4-5, 4-1 CCAA) will round out the calendar year by hosting Seattle Pacific (6-3, 1-1 GNAC) in non-conference action on Saturday at 7 p.m. before beginning the new year by returning to CCAA play against Cal State LA (6-5, 3-2 CCAA) on Sunday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. in The Sports Center.
LAST WEEK
The Cougars posted a perfect 2-0 weekend with 70-51 victory against San Francisco State on Thursday and a 72-60 win against Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.
CSUSM’s 19-point margin of victory against SFSU was its largest of the season as it went 63.2% (12-of-19) from beyond the arc – the third-best performance in program history.
Greg Milton III posted his first double-double as a Cougar with 21 points and 10 boards against the Gators.
Against the Otters, the Cougars posted a season-low five turnovers while tallying 21 assists for the second consecutive game.
Jayce McCain and Joel Mensah led CSUSM with 16 points each against CSUMB.
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS
The Cougars are boasting the eighth-lowest turnovers per game in Division II at 10.0.
With a turnover margin of 5.2, CSUSM ranks 13th nationally and leads the CCAA.
CSUSM is making 40.4% of all 3-point attempts, ranking 16th nationally and second in the CCAA.
An assist/turnover ratio of 1.38 ranks the Cougars 21st nationally and first in the conference.
CSUSM has the third-best scoring defense in the CCAA at 68.3 points allowed per game while also having the third-best scoring margin at 0.7.
Shooting 46.6% from the field, the Cougars have the third-best field-goal percentage in the conference.
McCain has the 16th-best assist/turnover ratio in Division II at 3.40 and leads the CCAA while Zack Perlstein ranks third in the conference at 2.75.
Playing over 35 minutes per game, Milton is averaging the most minutes in the league.
Joel Mensah has the second-best field-goal percentage in the CCAA at 56.5 and ranks third in rebounds at 7.7.
As CSUSM’s scoring leader at 19.6 points per game, Milton ranks fourth in the CCAA.
At 62 games played as a Cougar, McCain will tie the program record for games played held by Adam Eakles (2012-14) in his next outing.
At 713 career points, McCain can break into the top five at CSUSM with just seven more.
GAME 10 | SEATTLE PACIFIC
Date Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022
Time 7 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (4-5, 4-1 CCAA)
SPU (6-3, 1-1 GNAC)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
BACK TO NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
Saturday’s matchup against Seattle Pacific will be CSUSM’s final non-conference game of the regular season.
This will mark the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Falcons.
SPU will be CSUSM’s fourth non-conference opponent from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) this season.
CSUSM will be SPU’s first game against a Division II opponent since a 90-87 victory at Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 3.
The Falcons are coming off a 99-54 win against Evergreen State on Dec. 8.
SPU is 1-1 against CCAA teams this season as it began the season with an 84-79 win against Chico State before taking an 83-78 loss to Cal Poly Pomona in its second game of the year.
The Falcons are led by Shaw Anderson’s 20.8 points per game, ranking 22nd nationally and first in the GNAC.
SPU has the sixth-best field-goal percentage in Division II at 52.2 and ranks 11th in 3-point field-goal percentage at 41.5.
Scoring 85.2 points per game, the Falcons have the 21st-best scoring offense in the nation.
SPU was picked to finish fifth in the 2022-23 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
GAME 11 | CAL STATE LA
Date Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023
Time 3 p.m.
Location San Marcos, Calif.
Venue The Sports Center
Records CSUSM (4-5, 4-1 CCAA)
LA (6-5, 3-2 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
Tickets HomeTown Ticketing
SECOND MEETING WITH LA
CSUSM and LA will meet again for the second time this season on New Year’s Day after previously meeting on Nov. 26 in Los Angeles.
The Cougars secured a 78-64 victory in the CCAA opener against the Golden Eagles – CSUSM’s largest-ever margin of victory against LA.
Since that meeting, LA has went 3-1 in CCAA play with a 67-65 win at Chico State, a 73-69 loss at Stanislaus State, an 82-65 win against Cal State Monterey Bay and an 84-66 win against San Francisco State.
Before facing CSUSM, LA will wrap up the calendar year with an exhibition at Pepperdine on Monday, Dec. 19 in Malibu.
Dominic Escobar leads the Golden Eagles at 15.7 points per game.
LA leads the CCAA in blocks per game at 4.0 and ranks second for assists at 15.3.
The Golden Eagles have the worst rebounding margin in the CCAA at -7.4 while averaging 30.27 per game.
At 70.3 points allowed per game, LA’s scoring defense ranks fourth in the conference.
The Golden Eagles’ field-goal percentage defense of 43% ranks third in the CCAA while the team’s field-goal percentage of 45.6% ranks fourth.
The Cougars have won the last four contests against the Golden Eagles and hold a 7-5 lead in the all-time series.
At 4-2 when playing LA in San Marcos, CSUSM’s last home loss against LA was on Feb. 22, 2018.
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 83-64 (.565).
