SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Despite being just 30 miles apart, the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team and No. 11 UC San Diego will meet for the first time on Sunday at RIMAC Arena. It will be the first of three contests for the Cougars over the holiday break.

The Schedule
Game 9
Sunday, December 20 – 3 p.m.
CSUSM (4-4, 2-1 CCAA) at No. 11 UC San Diego (8-1, 3-0 CCAA)
La Jolla, Calif. – RIMAC Arena
Live Stats | Live Video

Game 10
Thursday, December 31 – 3 p.m.
CSUSM at Cal State Dominguez Hills (6-5, 0-2 CCAA)
Carson, Calif. – Torodome
Live Stats | Live Video

Game 11
Saturday, January 2 – 7:30 p.m.
CSUSM at Stanislaus State (3-5, 2-1 CCAA)
Turlock, Calif. – Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

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Probable Cougar Starters
G - #1 Akachi Okugo (Sr., 6-1/180): 9.1 ppg, 1.8 apg, 90.5 ft%, 28.8 mpg
G - #10 Andrew Bournes (Jr., 6-3/195): 12.3 ppg, 1.6 apg, 48.5 fg%, 26.6 mpg
G - #23 Darnell Taylor (Sr., 6-4/205): 20.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, 37.0 mpg
F - #35 Taran Brown (Sr., 6-8/215): 13.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 41.4 3fg%, 27.3 mpg
F - #42 Declan Daly (Sr., 6-8/240): 9.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 27.3 mpg

Cougars Heartbroken in Chico
CSUSM led for nearly 35 minutes of last Saturday's tilt at then-No. 22 Chico State, but a last-second half-court shot by the Wildcats handed the Cougars their first CCAA loss, 83-82. Declan Daly volleyed out a rebound to Darnell Taylor with five seconds remaining to free Taylor on a fast break, but the guard was fouled and sent to the line. He made his first free throw and attempted to miss his second; however, the ball banked into the basket. Jalen McFerren took the inbound pass and heaved it in to break the Cougars' hearts. For video of the play, click here.

CCAA Standings (through 12/17)
1. No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona (4-0, 10-0)
1. No. 17 Chico State (3-0, 9-1)
1. No. 11 UC San Diego (3-0, 8-1)
4. Humboldt State (3-1, 8-1)
5. Cal State San Marcos (2-1, 4-4)
5. Stanislaus State (2-1, 3-5)
7. Cal State East Bay (1-2, 4-5)
8. Cal State Monterey Bay (1-2, 3-7)
9. Cal State Dominguez Hills (0-2, 6-5)
9. Cal State San Bernardino (0-2, 3-3)
9. Cal State L.A. (0-2, 1-8)
9. San Francisco State (0-3, 5-3)
9. Sonoma State (0-3, 5-4)

In The CCAA Ranks
Team, league games, top three
1. FT made per game (19.3)
1. FT % (75.3)
1. Assists per game (15.3)
1. Blocks per game (4.7)
2. Points per game (77.7)
2. 3PT made per game (11.0)
2. 3PT % (40.2)
2. Steals per game (7.3)
3. Points (233)

Individual, all games, top five
1. Blocks – Declan Daly (20)
2. Points per game – Darnell Taylor (20.4)
2. Rebounds per game – Declan Daly (8.8)
4. Field goal percentage – Declan Daly (63.3)

UC San Diego Preview
All-time vs. UCSD: The Cougars and Tritons will meet for the first time on Sunday afternoon.

UCSD Breakdown: The Tritons, ranked No. 11 in NCAA Division II, started the season 7-0 before falling to No. 3 Western Oregon on Monday night. Adam Kile and Drew Dyer pace the UCSD offense and both average 15.1 points per game. UCSD is tops in the CCAA in field goal percentage (53.2), 3-point field goal percentage (45.2) and scoring defense (58.2).

Cal State Dominguez Hills Preview
All-time vs. CSUDH: CSUSM and CSUDH's New Years' Eve tilt will be the first in the teams' histories.

CSUDH Breakdown: Picked to finish last in the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, the Toros have looked anything but the part. The Toros went up to Anchorage and took down Alaska-Anchorage on their home court on Nov. 21 and have won five of their last six contests. Darius Butler leads the CCAA with a 60-percent clip from 3-point range.

Stanislaus State Preview
All-time vs. Stan St.: The Cougars and Warriors have never met.

Stan St. Breakdown: The Warriors took down CSUSB and SFSU on the road during the first weekend of CCAA play and were one of five undefeated teams along with the Cougars after the first week of conference competition. However, over their last seven games, the Warriors have dropped five, including back-to-back losses to Chico State and Cal State Monterey Bay. Stan St. leads the conference in offensive rebounds per game (14.0) and total rebounds (42.3).

Notes
Bournes was 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from behind the arc against Chico. He's scored in double digits in four straight games while shooting 48.8 percent from the field … Daly has tallied three or more blocks in five games this year … Javion Watson played seven minutes in his season debut at Chico State … Nik Brown scored nine points in 14 minutes against Chico, his first points as a Cougar … Ben Dickinson returned from injury to contribute six points and four rebounds against the Wildcats … CSUSM is 1-3 on the road so far this season.

The Jim Saia File
Jim Saia is in his fifth season at the helm of Cal State San Marcos, a program he has built from the ground up since arriving on campus in 2010. Saia holds a 108-29 (.788) on-court record at CSUSM and a 178-58 (.754) on-court record during his previous seven years as a collegiate head coach. He spent three seasons at Fresno Pacific (2007-10) prior to coming to CSUSM.

New Conference
Cal State San Marcos is in its first season of CCAA competition after spending its first four seasons as an independent program in the NAIA. CSUSM was picked to finish fifth in the preseason CCAA coaches' poll. The CCAA is made up of 12 CSU institutions and UC San Diego. The CCAA is one of the premier NCAA Division II leagues in the nation. Its teams have won more national championships (153) than any other conference.

New Territory
After four seasons of competition in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the Cougars enter their first season of NCAA Division II competition in 2015-16. CSUSM is currently in the second year of a three-year transition to full NCAA Division II membership. As a part of the transition, the Cougars will be ineligible for postseason play in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

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