SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 6/9 Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (14-1, 10-1 CCAA) earned its 10th CCAA win of the season with a 75-68 victory over San Francisco State (8-10, 5-6 CCAA) on Thursday night at The Sports Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 21 points | 5-of-9 3FG | 3 rebounds | 3 assists
Jayce McCain – 13 points | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 steals
Lyle Sutton – 11 points | 3 steals
Alex Gil-Fernandez – 9 points | 4 assists | 4 rebounds
Sean Dunn – 8 points | 5 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUSM took its largest lead of the first half at 19-10 as Sutton scored a layup off a turnover with 13:07 to go.
SF State tied the game at 23-all on a Sean Orr 3-pointer, but CSUSM responded with a trey of its own from the hands of Milton at the 6:03 mark of the first half.
A McCain jumper at the end of the half sent the Cougars to the locker room with a 37-29 lead.
CSUSM shot 48.3% (14-of-29) from the field in the opening half while the Gators put in a 42.3% (11-of-26) performance.
Milton led all scorers in the opening 20 minutes with 16 points, 12 of which came from behind the 3-point line.
After Blake Seits opened the second half with a jumper to make it 39-29, the Gators stormed back with a 14-4 run and evened the game at 43-all on a 3-pointer by Jalen Flanagan at the 15:14 mark.
A driving layup by Toby Okwuokei gave SF State its lone 36-second lead of the night at 45-43 with 14:45 to go.
CSUSM used a 14-2 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 58-47 on a second-chance bucket by Gil-Fernandez with 8:35 remaining.
The Gators were able to bring the Cougars’ lead down to five points at 69-64 after Jacob Huynh made both of his free throws with 2:35 left in the period.
SF State was not able to get any closer to CSUSM’s lead as a McCain drained both of his free throws with 24 seconds remaining to put the Cougars up 75-68.
FAST BREAKS
With the win, CSUSM remained undefeated at home this season with a 9-0 record.
The Cougars are now 5-6 in the all-time series against the Gators and are 2-4 when playing at home.
CSUSM upped its winning streak over SF State to three games.
This was the Cougars’ first victory over the Gators at The Sports Center since New Year’s Eve of 2017.
The Gator’s 68 points were the second fewest in series history.
CSUSM ended the game shooting 50% (29-of-58) from the field while SF State came in at 44.4% (24-of-54).
Sutton’s 11 points and five made goals were both career highs.
The Cougars scored 15 points off fast breaks compared to the Gators’ two.
CSUSM had 25 of its points come from the bench while SF State only had six.
The Cougars tallied more steals than their opponent for the eighth consecutive game and have had the advantage in all but one game this season.
CSUSM kept control of first place in the CCAA standings with a .909 winning percentage.
Assistant Coach Adam Ellis recaps CSUSM’s 75-68 victory over San Francisco State. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/JrERqYc5FG
– CSUSM Men’s Basketball (@CSUSM_MBB) January 28, 2022
UP NEXT
The Cougars will close out the week by hosting Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday at 3 p.m.
