IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 3 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team came back from a 12 points down in the second half to overtake Concordia (Calif.) 84-75 on Wednesday night at CU Arena.

Blake Nash led all scorers with 34 points, Declan Daly came in off the bench to contribute 10 points and 13 rebounds, and the Cougars improved its perfect record to a sterling 5-0 on the young season.

CUI (4-1) led by one at the half, 40-39, but started the second stanza with a 12-1 run that put CSUSM in a 12-point hole.

Dayton Boddie's floater in the lane and subsequent 3-point play snapped a 4:43 scoreless run by CSUSM at the 14:24 mark, the first field goal by a Cougar in the second half.

The teams traded buckets until fouls caught up to the Eagles. Nash and Akachi Okugo made pairs of free throws on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to six.

Boddie's fast break finger roll brought the Cougars within two, but back-to-back scores from Concordia pushed the lead back to six.  

Daly, who came on in relief of Julian Camper for the final 16 minutes, made his imprint on the game. He blocked Justin Davis' floater at the tin and was rewarded by Nash for an easy lay-in at the other end that made it 66-64 with 6:19 to play.

CSUSM was finally able to tie it when Boddie collected his own rebound before kicking it to Okugo for a 3-pointer from the corner that tied the game at 69-69.

The Cougars forced turnovers on the Eagles' next three possessions and went on a 6-0 run that made it 75-69.

The Eagles quickly cut the deficit to two by scoring on its next two trips down the court, but Daly was able to collect an offensive rebound before finding Okugo in the same corner for another 3-pointer that put CSUSM up five with 2:02 to play.

CUI would be able to get within just four the rest of the way. The Cougars made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.

Nash was 15-of-18 from the line, 14-of-16 in the second half. He added four assists, six rebounds and three steals.

Daly went 5-of-5 from the field with three blocks and three offensive rebounds. It was his third game of the season without a miss.

The Cougars outrebounded the Eagles, 41-35, and outscored CUI 40-32 in the paint.

CUI scored the game's first five points, and the Cougars spent much of the first half trying to battle back from a two-possession deficit.

A 6-0 run from the Cougars, capped by back-to-back impressive layups by Nash brought the Cougars even for the first time, 30-30, with 4:30 remaining.

CUI answered with a bucket, but Nash hit a pull-up 3-pointer to put CSUSM up 33-32. CUI would answer with baskets on its next two trips to retake a five-point lead.

The Eagles couldn't make their advantage bigger and Daly's finger roll brought the Cougars within one, 40-39, at the break.

CSUSM hosts No. 1 Vanguard this Saturday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the annual CSUSM Homecoming Game. For tickets, visit CSUSM.edu/homecoming.