OCEANSIDE, Calif. – Blake Nash registered a double-double,
Julian Camper scored a game-high 21, and the No. 3 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team won its fifth contest in a row, 93-59, over a young Menlo squad on Saturday afternoon at MiraCosta College.
The 34-point win margin is the Cougars' largest of the season and CSUSM improves to 19-2 overall. Menlo, which had just two upperclassmen on the squad, drops to 1-14.
Camper missed just one of his seven shots in the second half and finished the game 10-of-13 overall, matching his season-high point total. The lefty provided all of his points in the paint, where the Cougars held a 44-22 advantage over the Oaks.
Nash recorded his first double-double in Cougar blue, scoring 18 points to go with 10 assists – his second-highest total of the year.
Akachi Okugo was 4-of-6 from the floor, and he and
Taran Brown finished with 12 points. Brown hit four 3-pointers, all in the first half.
The CSUSM starting five had never started a game together this year for the Cougars - Nash, Okugo,
Dayton Boddie,
Jacob Andersson and
Declan Daly. The group helped CSUSM take a narrow advantage, but it wasn't until usual faces of Brown, Camper and
Wade Collie entered the game that the Cougars were able to put their stamp on the game.
Collie had five points in a 16-2 run that put CSUSM up 27-12 with 5:05 left in the first half. The spurt lasted 8:53 and the game was never in doubt from there.
Brown added a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, including one at the buzzer that put CSUSM up 44-22 at the break. The CSUSM bench outscored the Oaks 25-7 in the opening frame.
Menlo could pull no closer than 20 in the second half. Camper's turnaround jumper gave CSUSM a 30-point lead with 6:07 remaining, and the lead hovered around there until
Jacob Andersson and Okugo hit 3-pointers late in the game to give CSUSM's its final 34-point advantage.
CSUSM has two weeks off before hosting Northern New Mexico on Saturday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. The game is CSUSM's Military Appreciation Night – all former and active military members and their families will receive free admission with valid military ID.