SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (5-8, 4-3 CCAA) will conclude a four-game road trip this week by facing No. 22 Cal State San Bernardino (10-3, 5-2 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before going up against Cal Poly Pomona (2-9, 1-6 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
LAST WEEK
CSUSM opened the week with a 71-42 win at Stanislaus State on Thursday to earn its fifth consecutive win against the Warriors.
Edwyn Collins’ game-leading 18 points matched his career high for the second consecutive game.
The Cougars ended the week with a 93-88 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.
Collins had set a new career high with a game-leading 29 points while Charlies Henderson also had a career high 26 points.
CSUSM shot a season-high 50% from the field and had a season-best 3-point field-goal percentage of 53.1%.
COUGAR FACTS
CSUSM ranks second in the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.25), assists per game (14.8), free throw percentage (74.2), 3-point attempts per game (26.8), 3-point field-goal percentage (34.5) and 3-pointers per game (9.2).
The Cougars are committing just 11.8 turnovers per game to rank third in the conference.
CSUSM’s turnover margin of 2.8 ranks fourth in the league while its 14.62 turnovers forced per game thanks fifth.
The Cougars are holding opponents to a 41.6 field-goal percentage – the fifth lowest in the CCAA.
Mike Pope’s 2.23 3-pointers per game ranks second in the CCAA.
In the conference, Edwyn Collins ranks third in steals per game (1.92) and 11th in defensive rebounds per game (4.46).
Charlie Henderson has the third-best field-goal percentage in the league at 57.6% while ranking fifth in rebounds per game (7.4) and sixth in blocks per game (1.00).
Collins has scored at least 13 points in the past seven games.
The Cougars are currently tied for sixth in the CCAA standings with Sonoma State.
GAME 14 | NO. 22 CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
Date Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024
Time 7:30 p.m.
Location San Bernardino, Calif.
Venue Coussoulis Arena
Records CSUSM (5-8, 4-3 CCAA)
CSUSB (10-3, 5-2 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
THURSDAY IN SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes are coming off a 95-85 loss at Cal State LA this past Saturday after earning an 87-81 win at Cal State Dominguez Hills last Thursday.
CSUSB fell from No. 16 to No. 22 in this week’s NABC Division II Top 25 Poll.
CSUSB is currently in a three-way tie for third in the CCAA standings and were fourth in this week’s D2CSC West Region Poll.
The Coyotes have the sixth-best rebound margin in Division II and lead the CCAA at 9.0.
In the conference, CSUSB ranks first in free throw attempts per game (23.9), free throws made per game (16.7), rebounds per game (41.08), offensive rebounds per game (13.54), defensive rebounds per game (27.54) and scoring margin (13.9).
The Coyotes have the second-best scoring offense (78.4) and scoring defense (64.5) in the conference.
CSUSB is holding opponents to 40.4% from the field and 28.9% from beyond the arc, ranking second in the CCAA in both categories.
In the conference, Robby Robinson ranks second in rebounds per game (8.6) and is tied for the most double-doubles with five.
Evan Guillory ranks third in the league for assists per game (3.3) and assist/turnover ratio (1.13).
Leading the Coyotes in scoring at 14.6 points per game, Chris Mitchell has the fifth-best field-goal percentage (51.6) in the CCAA and ranks ninth in rebounds per game (6.4).
The Cougars will be looking for their first-ever win in San Bernardino.
CSUSB leads the all-time series at 9-4.
The Coyotes will be the third ranked team the Cougars have faced this season.
GAME 15 | CAL POLY POMONA
Date Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024
Time 3 p.m.
Location Pomona, Calif.
Venue Kellogg Arena
Records CSUSM (5-7, 4-3 CCAA)
CPP (2-9, 1-6 CCAA)
Live Stats SideArm Stats
Live Video ($) CCAA Network
SATURDAY AGAINST THE BRONCOS
The Broncos have lost their last six games and fell by scores of 79-55 and 64-62 to Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills this past weekend.
CPP is currently tied for 10th in the CCAA standings.
The Broncos rank 22nd nationally and led the conference with 4.8 blocks per game.
CPP ranks dead last in the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio (0.45), assists per game (7.0), fouls per game (22.0), free throw percentage (58.5), scoring margin (-8.0), scoring offense (60.8), 3-point percentage (22.5), 3-pointers per game (3.7) and turnovers per game (15.5).
Caleb Nelson is the CCAA’s best shot blocker at 1.18 per game.
Brandon Porter ranks sixth in the conference with 1.73 steals per game and leads the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game.
CSUSM has won three of the past four games against the CPP.
The Cougars and Broncos split last season’s set of games as CPP had a 57-46 win in the first meeting in Pomona before falling 70-44 to CSUSM at The Sports Center.
Bing Huang
2023-24 OUTLOOK
First-year head coach Nick Booker takes over the reins of the CSUSM men’s basketball program after spending three seasons as an assistant at UC San Diego.
The Cougars return six from last season’s roster, including Edwyn Collins, Chris Howard, Bing Huang, Jermaine Rogers II, Jack Schultz and Donovan Watkins.
CSUSM has eight newcomers for 2023-24, including transfers Uriah Foster, Charlie Henderson, Teagen Hoard, Luc Krystkowiak, Mike Pope, Jayden White and Justin White while welcoming true freshman Max Tengan.
The Cougars’ 30-game slate includes two road exhibitions to go along with 13 home games and 15 road games in the regular season.
CSUSM was selected to finish seventh in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE BOOKER FILE
Nick Booker became the Cougars’ third head coach in program history on June 5, 2023.
Booker came to CSUSM from UC San Diego where was the Tritons’ assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons beginning in June 2020.
Prior to UCSD, Booker was the associate head coach at Eastern Washington from April 2017 through May 2020 and was named the top assistant coach in the Big Sky Conference by Stadium.
While at Eastern Washington, Booker helped the Eagles win 59 games overall and a Big Sky Conference Championship in 2019-20 while helping develop two Big Sky Players of the Year.
Before Eastern Washington, Booker was the director of basketball operations at Davidson College in 2016-17 after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at UC Irvine from April 2011 to March 2016, where he was also the director of basketball operations for one season prior.
Booker’s first coaching gig as an assistant came at Miramar Community College in 2006-07, and he later became the assistant coach and interim head coach at Saddleback Community College from July 2007 through August 2010.
Booker earned his bachelor’s in history at Davidson College in 2004and earned his master’s in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2010.
At Davidson, Booker was a starter for the 2002 Southern Conference Championship team that faced Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament and contributed to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2001 and 2002.
