SAN MARCOS, Calif. – It's an off week for the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team in conference play, but the Cougars won't just sit on their hands. Benedictine Mesa and Bristol University are coming to town.

The Schedule
Game 14
Monday, January 11 – 5 p.m.
Benedictine Mesa (8-13) at Cal State San Marcos (8-5)
Oceanside, Calif. – MiraCosta College
Live Stats | Live Video

Game 15
Saturday, January 16 – 4 p.m.
Bristol University (1-12) at CSUSM
Oceanside, Calif. – MiraCosta College
Live Stats | Live Video

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Probable Cougar Starters
G - #1 Akachi Okugo (Sr., 6-1/180): 10.5 ppg, 1.9 apg, 1.7 rpg, 30.5 mpg
G - #23 Darnell Taylor (Sr., 6-4/205): 21.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.9 apg, 35.9 mpg
G - #33 Tanner Waldrip (Jr., 5-10/165): 6.0 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.7 apg, 20.7 mpg
F - #35 Taran Brown (Sr., 6-8/215): 11.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 45.0 fg%, 26.5 mpg
F - #42 Declan Daly (Sr., 6-8/240): 9.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 55.4 fg%, 29.3 mpg

Home Stand to Start 2016
The Cougars are in the middle of a six-game home stand. CSUSM resumes CCAA play next week with a rematch against Chico State on Jan.21, which took down the Cougars on Dec. 12 on a brutal buzzer-beater. The home stand ends on Jan. 23 against Stanislaus State.

The Week That Was
The Cougars trailed at half time of both games last week, but rallied to take down Cal State East Bay, 71-60, and Cal State Monterey Bay, 69-66. CSUSM has won four games in a row and is riding its longest winning streak this season. Akachi Okugo hit several big shots down the stretch in the win over Cal State East Bay and matched Darnell Taylor with a team-high 19 points. On Saturday against CSUSM, Taylor put in the go-ahead layup with 15 seconds remaining and then got a key steal to seal the win. CSUSM moved into a tie for third in the CCAA standings with the victory and remains a game out of first place.

Benedictine Mesa Preview
Benedictine Breakdown: Benedictine, a NAIA Division II institution from the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac), is 2-1 in 2016 and is coming off a 93-84 victory at La Sierra. Troy Conley is the Redhawks' leading scorer at 12.8 points per game with Kyle Tomlinson following close behind with 12.4. CSUSM and Benedictine have never met.

Bristol Preview
Bristol Breakdown: The Bristol Bears dropped their first 12 games of the 2015-16 season, but are coming off their lone victory, a 138-82 shootout victory over Future College on January 9. Bristol competes in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC), which is affiliated with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). Michael Johnson is the Bears' leading scorer at 14.1 PPG.

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 112-30 (.789) on-court record at CSUSM and a 182-59 (.755) on-court career record in eight years as a collegiate head coach. He spent three seasons at Fresno Pacific (2007-10) prior to coming to CSUSM.

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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