SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team has an opportunity to take one of the top two spots in the conference standings as Chico State and Stanislaus State come to town this week for the resumption of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play.

The Schedule
Game 15
Thursday, January 21 – 8 p.m.
No. 19 Chico State (14-3, 8-2 CCAA) at Cal State San Marcos (9-5, 6-2 CCAA)
Oceanside, Calif. – MiraCosta College
Live Stats | Live Video

Game 16
Saturday, January 23 – 8 p.m.
Stanislaus State (5-10, 4-6 CCAA) at CSUSM
Oceanside, Calif. – MiraCosta College
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Probable Cougar Starters
G - #1 Akachi Okugo (Sr., 6-1/180): 10.1 ppg, 2.1 apg, 1.8 rpg, 30.9 mpg
G - #23 Darnell Taylor (Sr., 6-4/205): 20.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.7 apg, 35.0 mpg
G - #33 Tanner Waldrip (Jr., 5-10/165): 6.6 ppg, 1.7 apg, 1.7 apg, 20.9 mpg
F - #35 Taran Brown (Sr., 6-8/215): 12.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 44.4 fg%, 26.5 mpg
F - #42 Declan Daly (Sr., 6-8/240): 9.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 57.1 fg%, 28.8 mpg

Top of the Mountain
The Cougars have an opportunity this weekend to make a statement in the CCAA. With a victory over Chico State, CSUSM would move into solo second-place in the conference standings. If CSUSM beats CSUC and UC San Diego loses to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday night, the Cougars would take first place in the conference standings.

CCAA Standings (through 1/20)
1. No. 19 Chico State 8-2 (.800), 14-3
1. No. 17 UC San Diego 8-2 (.800), 13-3
3. Cal State San Marcos 6-2 (.750), 9-5
4. No. 16 Cal Poly Pomona 7-3 (.700), 14-3
4. Humboldt State 7-3 (.700), 13-3
6. Cal State Monterey Bay 5-4 (.556), 7-8
7. Sonoma State 4-5 (.445), 9-6
8. Stanislaus State 4-5 (.445), 9-6
9. San Francisco State 4-6 (.334), 9-6
9. Cal State Dominguez Hills 3-6 (.334), 9-8
11. Cal State East Bay 2-7 (.223), 6-11
11. Cal State L.A. 2-7 (.223), 3-13
13. Cal State San Bernardino 2-8 (.200), 5-9

In The CCAA Ranks
Team, league games, top five
1. Blocked shots (4.63)
2. Scoring (75.1)
2. Assists (13.88)
3. Assist/Turnover ratio (1.11)
4. Scoring margin (5.0)
4. Free throw % (72.1)
4. Offensive rebounds (10.3)
4. Steals (6.88)

Individual, league games, top five
1. Blocks/Blocks average – Declan Daly (22, 2.8)
2. Scoring – Darnell Taylor (20.5)
2. Minutes – Darnell Taylor (35.3)
2. Rebounding – Declan Daly (9.3)
2. Free throw % - Akachi Okugo (95.5%)
3. Steals – Darnell Taylor (1.9)
5. Rebounding – Darnell Taylor (6.8)
5. 3FG % - Taran Brown (40.5%)

Chico State Preview
All-time vs. CSUC: 0-1

Last Time Out: L, 82-83 (Dec. 12, 2015); Darnell Taylor put CSUSM ahead by two with a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left, but CSUC's Jalen McFerren's desperation heave from behind the half-court stripe found the bottom of the net to provide the Wildcats the last laugh.

CSUC Breakdown: The Wildcats are off to their best start since 1945 and are tied with UC San Diego for first place in the CCAA at 8-2. They've won back-to-back games and four of five in 2016. CSUC is 2-2 in CCAA road games this season. In conference play, Chico leads the CCAA in field goal percentage (46.5%), three-point shooting (37.8%), rebounding (38.5), assists (14.6) and attendance (1,074).

Stanislaus State Preview
All-time vs. Stan St.: 1-0

Last Time Out: W, 68-60 (Jan. 2, 2016); Stan St. jumped out to an early 9-8 advantage, but it would be the last time the Warriors would lead. CSUSM led by as many as 22 before Stan St. came crawling back to pull within single digits late. Taylor led the Cougars with 15 points, while Brown and Okugo added 14 and 12, respectively. Daly had a complete game with eight points, a game-high 14 rebounds and a game-high five assists.

Stan St. Breakdown: The Warriors have dropped five straight contests since opening 2016 with a win against Cal State L.A. on January 1. Stan St. is fighting for one of the last spots for the CCAA tournament and enters this week in eighth place in the conference standings with a 4-5 record.

Notes
Brown led the Cougars with 17 points in last Monday's win over Benedictine … Brown has tallied 17 points in back to back games … Ben Dickinson scored 18 against Bristol on Saturday night … Daly is averaging nearly a double-double in the four games in 2016, posting a 9.3 scoring average and a 11.3 rebounding average … Collin Host is shooting 70-percent from he field (12-of-17) in 2016.

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 111-30 (.787) on-court record at CSUSM and a 181-59 (.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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