The Cal State San Marcos Men's Basketball kicked off the first of four consecutive games this week with a tough test against a BYU Cougars team that reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year, falling 79-51 Tuesday night in Provo, UT. CSUSM gave the 13,007 fans at the Marriott Center something to worry about early in the second half as they pulled within 32-28 after a Tim Steed 3-pointer, but ultimately couldn't pull any closer.

The big advantage in height that BYU held on the San Marcos was evident in both points in the point and rebounds, as BYU outscored CSUSM in the paint 46-24, and held the edge in rebounds 44-27. Cal State San Marcos played solid on both ends, taking good care of the basketball, but couldn't get enough shots to fall, shooting 36.4% on the evening.

Tim Steed led CSUSM in scoring with 11 points, and Alpha Ndiaye added 10 points on 5-6 shooting. Guard Jamel McGuire led the Cougars in rebounds with 8, a season high for him. Point Guard Danny Redmon handed out 6 assists on the night.

The Cougars (6-7) will hit the road tonight and play again tomorrow in the first of three games in Las Vegas, taking on Lethbridge University (4-4) from Alberta, Canada.