Box Score

15 first half turnovers doomed an otherwise exceptional performance by Cal State San Marcos men's basketball in the team's first-ever game, as the Cougars fell on the road Wednesday night to San Diego State 78-63.
 
It was the first exhibition game for both teams.  CSUSM will open its regular season Saturday night at home against Vanguard University.
 
Facing the mighty Aztecs, who finished last season 34-3 with a top-5 national ranking and a Sweet 16 appearance, Coach Jim Saia's Cougars more than held their own for the vast majority of Wednesday night's contest. 
 
Though the match was an exhibition, the famed SDSU student section was out in full force, making up a good chunk of the 11,711 reported in attendance.  But the Blue Crew made its presence felt as well, as hundreds of CSUSM fans made the trip to cheer on their Cougars and make some noise of their own.
 
On the court, CSUSM got off to a strong start, trailing just 10-8 with 14:37 left in the first half.  But playing without injured starting point guard Danny Redmon, the Cougars struggled to find rhythm on offense against an athletic new-look Aztec team.  The home team, led by James Rahon and Chase Tapley bombing threes, put together a 20-3 run to take control of the game and send CSUSM reeling.
 
Down 30-11, Coach Saia's Cougars were on the verge of being blown out.  But despite being a first-year program, CSUSM is a veteran team, and the Cougars would claw back.  From the 7:14 mark in the first half until halftime, CSUSM outscored SDSU 14-11, cutting the lead to a manageable 41-25.
 
CSUSM shot the ball well in the first half, 55% as a team, but the 15 turnovers proved the difference.  7 of those were by Tim Steed, who was pressed into point guard duty due to the Redmon injury.
 
“One of our game plans was we couldn't turn the ball over.  Poor Tim (Steed), he's not a true point guard.  He just tried to do too much, so we settled him down in the second half.”
 
The second half would indeed tell a different tale, as the Cougars came out organized, energized, and ready to make a game of it.  CSUSM began the half on a 9-0 run with Steed at the helm, nailing two critical threes.  The squad would hang tough, and with less than 8 minutes remaining the Cougars were down just 56-49 and had taken the crowd entirely out of it.
 
A backbreaking three by Rahon pushed the lead to 11, however, and CSUSM would never recover, eventually losing by 15.
 
As a team, CSUSM shot 48.9% for the game to SDSU's 48.3%.  That was despite the Cougars' starting five playing 31 minutes or more each, with SDSU winning the bench battle by a resounding 30-2 margin.  The Aztecs held an advantage in the paint, outscoring CSUSM 38-28 and grabbing 14 offensive boards.
 
There were many, many positives for the Cougars, however.  After the rough start, Steed settled down and turned in an outstanding overall performance, recording a game-high 21 points and hitting an out-of-this-world 5 of 6 three point attempts.  Alpha Ndiaye, holding his own under the basket at 6'8”, led the team with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.  A.J. Chamberlain was outstanding, shooting 7-for-9 and scoring 18 point while grabbing 6 boards. 
 
After the turnover prone first half, CSUSM committed just two turnovers the entire second half – a fact reflected in the Cougars outscoring SDSU 38-37 in the half.
 
“I thought it was great,” commented Saia.  “It's a brand new team, we haven't played together and they haven't run my system…We just have to get a little smarter and when we get Danny Rddmon back, our point guard, it's going to be a whole different deal.”
 
The first-ever regular season basketball game for Cal State San Marcos will take place this Saturday, November 5^th, at 7:30 PM at MiraCosta College.  CSUSM will be taking on Vanguard University.  Tickets will be available at the gate, and CSUSM students can enjoy free admission with presentation of their campus ID.