SAN MARCOS, Calif. – This week in Cal State San Marcos Athletics, men’s and women’s basketball will continue their 2018-19 seasons while men’s and women’s cross country will head to the NCAA West Regionals.
Men’s basketball will get the week started by hosting San Diego Christian in its home opener at the Sports Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The team will then go on the road to Portland, Oregon, for the Oxford Suites Classic hosted by Concordia. The Cougars will play Northwest Nazarene on Friday at 5 p.m. before facing Concordia on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Women’s basketball’s lone game of the week will take the Cougars to Concordia Irvine on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Men’s amd women’s cross country will make the journey to the NCAA West Regionals in Billings, Montana, on Saturday. The men’s 10K will begin at 10 a.m. and will be followed by the women’s 6K at 11:15 a.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.
CSUSM (1-1) vs. San Diego Christian (1-1)
San Marcos, Calif. – The Sports Center
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
Friday, Nov. 16 – 5 p.m.
CSUSM vs. Northwest Nazarene (1-0)
Portland, Ore. – LCEF Court
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
Saturday, Nov. 17 – 5 p.m.
CSUSM at Concordia (Ore.) (1-1)
Portland, Ore. – LCEF Court
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars opened the 2018-19 season with a 64-58 loss at Biola on Friday.
•CSUSM tallied a come-from-behind victory over Concorida Irvine after overcoming a 17-point deficit to pick up a 69-62 win.
•Khalil Fuller led the Cougars with 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while Darae Elliott posted the team’s first double-double of the season on Saturday.
•After two games, CSUSM ranks second in the nation for three-point field-goal defense at 18.0 percent and fourth in the nation for steals per game at 13.0.
HOME OPENER AGAINST SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN •The Cougars will play their home opener against NAIA opponent San Diego Christian on Tuesday night.
•The Hawks are 1-1 on the season with a loss over Saint Katherine and a win over La Sierra.
•SDC also has exhibition losses to Cal State Fullerton and California Baptist.
NEUTRAL SITE GAME AGAINST NORTHWEST NAZARENE •CSUSM will face Northwest Nazarene as part of the Oxford Suites Classic in Portland, Oregon.
•The Nighthawks opened the season with a 107-90 win over Northwest Christian on Friday.
•NNU was picked to finish seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).
•Senior guard Obi Megwa and junior guard Jayden Bezzant were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
•Friday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Nighthawks.
SATURDAY AT CONCORDIA (ORE.) •The Cavaliers opened the season with an 82-75 loss at Cal State San Bernardino before earning an 80-76 win over Cal State Monterey Bay.
•Concordia was picked to finish 10th in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll after finishing last season with a 5-23 record.
•Senior guard Jared Gray was picked for the GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team.
•The Cougars are 1-0 in the all-time series against the Cavaliers after picking up a 73-65 win in San Marcos last season.
THE FOSTER FILE •Head coach B.J. Foster enters his third season in charge of the CSUSM Men’s Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
•Under his leadership, the Cougars advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the first time in 2017-18 after finishing the season with a 15-7 conference record and a 20-9 overall record.
•Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
•In his two seasons as a head coach, Foster has tallied a career record of 39-20 (.661).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Nov. 15 – 5:30 p.m.
CSUSM (1-1) at Concordia Irvine (0-2)
Irvine, Calif. – CU Arena
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
PREVIOUS WEEK •For the first time in program history, the Cougars won their season opener by recording a 64-57 win over Hawaii Pacific last Friday night. CSUSM dropped a 67-58 decision the following night to Simon Fraser.
•Junior Jon’Nae Vermillion registered a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds against HPU. On Saturday night, the Cougars were led by sophomore Emma Forel’s 21 points.
•In the first two games, CSUSM is shooting 40.7 percent from the field while holding its opponents to 34.2 percent.
•In the 2018-19 CCAA Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll, the Cougars were picked to finish eighth.
CONCORDIA IRVINE BREAKDOWN •The Eagles fell in both of their games last weekend, dropping a 64-50 decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday before falling 65-62 to Cal State L.A. on Saturday.
•Sophomore Michaela VanderKlugt earned Preseason All-Conference honors after collecting the PacWest Freshman of the Year accolade last season.
•The Cougars are 1-2 against CUI with all three of their last meetings coming in 2014.
•CUI was picked to finish fifth in the 2018-19 PacWest Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
THE JIMENEZ FILE •Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her fourth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its eighth season of existence.
•Jimenez has compiled a 153-119 (.563) in her ten seasons coaching in the CCAA, spending two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
MEN’S / WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday, Nov. 17
NCAA West Regionals (hosted by Montana State Billings)
Billings, Mont. – Amend Park
LIVE SCORING | COURSE MAP
RACE START TIMES
10 a.m. – Men’s 10K
11:15 a.m. – Women’s 6K
COUGARS COMPETING
WOMEN: Shelby Eberwein, Lisa Flora, Clarissa Garcia, Arianna Garcia-Swantek, Jax Heckers, Marina McDonough and Alicia Villarreal
MEN: Phillip Dorado, Vahagn Isayan, Kevin Lehr, Joshua Litwiller, Kyle Rossman, Steven Terris, Isaiah Thomas and Shea Vavra
PREVIOUS RACE •At the CCAA Championships on Nov. 3, senior Vahagn Isayan led the men’s squad to runner-up honors after placing eighth out of 84 runners.
•Senior Lisa Flora once again set the pace for the women’s side for the fifth time this season, finishing third out of 107 runners to guide the Cougars to a third place finish at the CCAA Championships.
UPCOMING RACE •In 2017, the women’s team placed fifth while the men took ninth at the NCAA West Regional in Monmouth, Ore.
•The women received an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA National Championships on Nov. 6 where they went on to finish eighth out of 32 teams.
•The reigning West Regional Champion on the women’s side was Cal Baptist who will not be competing this year due to transitioning to NCAA Division I.
•On the men’s side, Chico State has won 13 of the last 15 NCAA West Regionals, including last year’s race.
WHO WILL BE MOVING ON •The top three teams from each regional meet will automatically advance to the championship finals (24 teams total). Ten at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Committee using the selection criteria found here. There is no limit to the number of at-large teams that may be selected from any given region.
•The top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals (16 individuals total). All individuals who finish in the top five at the regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championships finals. The next eight individuals will be selected at-large.
