TURLOCK, Calif. – A pair of 20-point performances by Zack Perlstein and Greg Milton III helped the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (2-4, 2-0 CCAA) earn a 75-69 win over Stanislaus State (2-6, 0-2 CCAA) on Thursday night at Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.
TOP PERFORMERS
Zack Perlstein – 20 points | 6 assists | 3 steals | 4 rebounds
Greg Milton III – 20 points | 3 rebounds
Joel Mensah – 13 points | 9 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Jayce McCain – 11 points | 5 assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars started the game with an 8-0 lead over the Warriors.
Going up 14-6 with Milton’s third 3-pointer at the 15:22 mark of the period, 12 of the Cougars’ first 14 points came from beyond the arc.
CSUSM took its largest lead of the first period at 16-6 on a jumper from Mensah.
With CSUSM up 19-11, Stanislaus went on a 9-0 run and took its first lead of the night with a 3-pointer by Isaiah Jones to give the Warriors a 20-19 lead with 8:37 remaining the half.
After a 3-pointer by Chase Bowsher put the Cougars up 34-30 with 2:35 to go in the period, the Warriors ended the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 39-34 lead.
Milton led all players with 15 points at halftime as he went 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
The Cougars shot 52% (13-of-25) from the field and 63.6% (7-of-11) from downtown in the first half while the Warriors came in at 50% (13-of-26) from the field and 60% (6-of-10) from beyond the arc.
Stan State continued its run out of the break as a layup by Marlon Short made it 11 consecutive points for the Warriors 28 seconds into the half.
The Warriors took their largest lead of the game at 51-40 as Will Pallesi drained a 3-pointer with 14:18 remaining.
Still trailing by 11 at 56-45 with 10:52 to go, CSUSM went on a 17-2 run to go up 62-58 after a pair of free throws by McCain with 4:44 remaining.
With the Cougars up 64-60, a second-chance 3-pointer by Benno Zecic brought the Warriors deficit down to 64-63 with 2:14 to go.
CSUSM went on a 7-0 run following Zecic’s basket to go up 71-63 with a couple of free throws by Milton.
Stanislaus made it a five-point game at 74-69 with a driving layup by Kobe Ordonio, but with just 21 seconds to play, it wasn’t enough time to overcome CSUSM’s lead.
CSUSM shot 60% (15-of-25) from the field in the second half while holding Stan State to 40% (12-of-30).
FAST BREAKS
CSUSM ended the game shooting a season-best 56% (28-of-50) while Stanislaus came in at 44.6% (25-of-56).
The Cougars’ 3-point field-goal percentage of 56.3 was the team’s best performance from downtown since going 63.6% (14-of-22) against San Diego Christian on Nov. 12, 2019.
CSUSM committed a season-low eight turnovers to Stan State’s 12 while leading the way in steals at 5-4.
The Cougars racked up 15 points off Warrior turnovers.
Both teams tallied 14 assists for the game. This was the Cougars second consecutive game with 14.
The Warriors had the advantage in rebounds at 32-25.
The game featured 10 lead changes and two ties.
Perlstein’s six assists were a career high while his three steals matched his high.
Mensah’s season-high nine rebounds came up just one shy of a double-double and matching his career high.
This was Milton’s third 20-plus point performance of the season and his second consecutive.
CSUSM is now 8-3 in the all-time series against Stanislaus and is 4-2 when playing in Turlock.
The Cougars have now won the past three meetings against the Warriors.
This was CSUSM’s first win in Turlock since Jan. 20, 2018.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will conclude its four-game road trip on Saturday as it travels to Chico State for a 3 p.m. tip.
