ARCATA, Calif. – A go-ahead layup by Darius Goudeau with 1.1 seconds remaining gave the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team its third consecutive win as the Cougars defeated Humboldt State 76-74 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action on Thursday night at Lumberjack Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Marcus Brown – 24 points | 4-of-8 3FG | 3 assists | 2 steals
Jayce McCain – 15 points | 4 assists | 3 rebounds
Khalil Fuller – 12 points | 7 rebounds
Darae Elliott – 8 points | 7 rebounds | 1 blocked shot
HOW IT HAPPENED •After HSU opened the game with a basket, CSUSM took control of the lead for the rest of the half with a three by Brown at 8-5.
•The Cougars’ largest lead of the first half came at 24-16 with 7:52 on the clock as Fuller got a jumper to go.
•With CSUSM up 40-35 after a layup by Kyle Scalmanini, HSU ended the half with back-to-back buckets to close the Cougars’ lead to 40-39.
•Brown led all scorers with 14 points as CSUSM shot 48.4% (15-of-31) from the field.
•Of CSUSM’s 40 points in the first half, 11 came on a fast break, 10 came off the bench and eight came off HSU’s five turnovers.
•Neither team had more than a six-point lead in the second half.
•With the Cougars up 61-60, the Jacks’ Gabrys Sadaunykas drained a three to give HSU its second lead of the game at 63-61 with 8:50 remaining.
•With HSU up 68-65, a jumper and a layup by McCain put CSUSM back on top at 69-68 with 4:21 to go.
•After Brown made the first of two free throws to put CSUSM up 74-72 with 15 ticks remaining, HSU’s Leland Green tied the game at 74-all on layup with eight seconds remaining.
•With the clock winding down, the Cougars drove down the court as Scalmanini made a half-court pass to an open Goudeau under the basket for the go-ahead layup with 1.1 seconds remaining.
•After a timeout, Green took a last-second shot from half court, but the attempt came nowhere close to the basket and secured the win for CSUSM.
•McCain led the Cougars with 12 second-half points as the team shot 51.6% (16-of-31) for the period.
FAST BREAKS •CSUSM improves to 8-7 (4-5 CCAA) while HSU drops to 6-8 (2-7 CCAA).
•The Cougars last had a three-game winning steak on Nov. 12-16 against San Diego Christian, Academy of Art and Alaska Fairbanks.
•CSUSM last three-game winning streak in CCAA play came in its final three games of the 2018-19 season against Sonoma State, Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay.
•The Cougars now own a 5-4 lead in the all-time series against the Jacks and are 3-2 when playing on HSU’s home floor.
•CSUSM’s win was the smallest margin of victory in all nine series games against HSU.
•This was the Cougars’ third consecutive win in Arcata and first true road victory of the season.
•Brown’s 24 points and four 3-pointers were both season highs.
•This is the third consecutive game in which CSUSM has shot 50% from the field or better as they ended the night 31-of-62.
•With the victory, CSUSM is now tied with Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills for seventh place in the CCAA standings.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will complete its Northern California road trip on Saturday night as it visits Stanislaus State in Turlock. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
