Box Score
Box Score

Cal State San Marcos won a hard fought game thanks in large part to stellar play from Jacob Ranger in the 1st half and Tim Steed in the 2nd. Ranger left the game early in the 2nd half after twisting his ankle, but had already compiled 21 points when he left. Ranger scored 25 total points shooting 9 of 16 from the field and was 4 of 9 from three-point range. Steed finished with 23 points and was 10/16 from the field with a fantastic dunk that energized the crowd. Ranger returned late in the 2nd half and hit a big three-pointer that gave the Cougars a lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Cougars also got good all around games from point guard Daniel Redmon and forward Alpha Ndiaye. Redmon was especially good on defense forcing 5 steals and even blocking a shot. He finished with 9 points shooting 3 of 4 from the field and assisted on another 5 baskets. Ndiaye also helped spread the points gathering 4 assists to go along with his 7 points and 7 rebounds. The Cougars were without forward AJ Chamberlain and predominantly used only one bench player, Jeremy Ford who was 2 of 2 from the field with 5 points in only 13 minutes on the floor.
 
The game came down to the final seconds, after a make and a miss from Redmon the Cougars were up 2 and needed a stop. Fresno Pacific's Donte Nicholas who led the Sunbirds with 24 points brought the ball up the floor for the final possession. He drove but opted to pass out to the wing where Fresno Pacific ultimately had their pass stolen by Ndiaye who passed the ball up court to end the game. 
 
The Cougars had field goal percentage of 69% in the 2nd half and were too hot to handle, improving their record to 15-10 on the season. CSUSM returns home to Mira Costa College Thursday February 16th, as they will host #13 ranked The Master's College at 7:30pm.