SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team will make its debut on Friday night at San Diego State before traveling to UCLA next Monday evening.

The Schedule
Exhibition 1
November 1, 2013 – 7:00 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos at San Diego State
San Diego, Calif. – Viejas Arena
Live Stats

Exhibition 2
November 4, 2013 – 7:30 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos at UCLA
Los Angeles, Calif. – Pauley Pavilion
TV: Pac-12 Network
Listen

Catch the Cougars
Fans can reserve their tickets for all 15 regular-season home games this season today. Season ticket packages start as low as $65. Reserve your seat today! Click here for more details.

Homecoming Game, Nov. 16 vs. Daemen College
The Cougars' home opener will headline CSUSM Homecoming Week on Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. vs. Daemen College. Fans and students interested in attending the game must preregister and purchase their ticket through Eventbrite here. Fans who purchase their tickets through Eventbrite can attend a barbecue at the Clarke starting at 4:30 p.m. In addition, ticket holders will be shuttled via bus from The Clarke to MiraCosta at 6:30 p.m. for the game. Non-Alumni Assocaition Members are $15, Alumni Association members are $10 and students are free. NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR.

Time for Hoops
Ranked No. 12 in the preseason NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll, CSUSM will take the floor with 11 new players in addition to three returners from last year's squad. Jim Saia enters his third season as the Cougars' head coach and his 25^th overall in coaching. Two of CSUSM's starters from last year's team – seniors Adam Eakles and Quincy Lawson – return this season along with senior Bryan Emanuel.

Coach Saia on the Radio
Jim Saia will take to the airwaves on Thursday to discuss his team and the upcoming game at Viejas on Friday night. First, he will speak with Chris Ello and Ben Higgins on "The World of Sports According to Chris & Ben" on XTRA 1360 at 8:35 a.m. Later in the evening, Saia will talk on "On The Ball" with Alex Tamayo on KKSM 1320 at 6:30 p.m. You can listen on Cox Cable 957 or via the web on PalomarCollegeRadio.com

A Brief History
The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team was established in 2011 by head coach Jim Saia. CSUSM is an NAIA Division I team competing in the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.), made up of unaffiliated institutions from across the country. The Cougars are entering their third season as a program after going 42-19 over its first two seasons.

Year 3
The Cougars are coming off a 2012-13 season in which they went 23-7 and were ranked in the NAIA top 25 for all 13 weeks of the poll. CSUSM at one point won 14 straight games and reached as high as No. 6. The team received an automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament – its first-ever appearance – where it fell 109-98 to MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the Opening Round.

New Year, New Look
Eakles, Lawson and Emanuel will be joined by 11 new players, including NCAA DI transfers De'End Parker (University of San Francisco), Malcolm Lemmons (Niagara), Jason Johnson (Utah Valley) and Khalil Murphy (LIU Brooklyn). Parker, who attended UCLA his freshman year, averaged 11.7 points and shot 41.4% in 29 games for USF last season. Gone for the Cougars are All-American Jose Rivera and A.I.I. first-teamers AJ Gasporra and Danny Redmon.

CSUSM-SDSU Rehash
The Cougars held their own against the Aztecs in both teams' season opener in 2012. CSUSM was even with SDSU at the half, 26-26, but SDSU shot 66% in the second half in an eventual 67-46 victory. Jacob Ranger led the Cougars with 10 points, while Lawson and Ali Langford each registered eight. CSUSM did win the turnover battle, however, forcing 22 by the Aztecs while committing 15.

Cougars-Bruins
CSUSM made its first-ever trip to Pauley Pavilion on December 4, 2012. Lawson led the Cougars with 14 points and Langford added 10, but UCLA was simply too much and cruised to an 83-60 win. CSUSM was outshot 51.7% - 37.9% and outscored by 18 inside the paint. UCLA, ranked No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, will be under the tutelage of first-year head coach Steve Alford, who replaced Ben Howland in the offseason.

The Saia File
Saia is 121-63 overall in five and a half seasons as a head coach at a four-year institutions. Prior to his time at CSUSM (41-19 overall), Saia went 70-29 over three seasons at Fresno Pacific (2007-10). He previously went 10-15 as interim head coach at USC after Henry Bibby was relieved of his duties midway through the 2004-05 season. Between 1997-2003, Saia was an assistant coach on Steve Lavin's staff at UCLA. Saia's tenure in Westwood included an Elite Eight appearance and five Sweet 16 berths. Saia has also made stops at Columbia College (1994-1996), Fresno State (1990-1994), Indiana State (1989-90), and Cal (1988-89) as an assistant. At Columbia, he led the Claim Jumpers to a 61-10 overall mark.

Cougars By The Numbers
CSUSM put together one of the most competitive teams in the NAIA in its second season, finishing the year fourth in field goal percentage (.493), assists per game (17.667) and assist/turnover ratio (1.366); fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.390); seventh in scoring margin (+14.6); ninth in steals (320) and total assists (530); and 10^th in scoring offense per game (83.23) and steals per game (10.667).

CAR RAFFLE
The Cal State San Marcos Department of Athletics is hosting a 2014 MINI Cooper raffle to raise money for the Cougars' 13 intercollegiate teams. For $10, fans and friends of the program can enter to win a 2-year lease of the vehicle. For more information on how and where to buy tickets, click here. Raffle tickets will be on sale during Saturday's match.

CSUSM ATHLETICS
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