SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team begins the second half of its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season schedule in fourth place and looks to keep pace with the teams at the top.

The Schedule
Game 18
Thursday, January 28 – 7:30 p.m.
Cal State San Marcos (10-6, 7-3 CCAA) at Cal State East Bay (7-12, 3-9 CCAA)
Hayward, Calif. – Pioneer Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

Game 19
Saturday, January 30 – 3:30 p.m.
CSUSM at Cal State Monterey Bay (8-10, 6-6 CCAA)
Seaside, Calif. – The Kelp Bed
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

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Probable Cougar Starters
G - #1 Akachi Okugo (Sr., 6-1/180): 10.4 ppg, 2.1 apg, 1.9 rpg, 30.9 mpg
G - #23 Darnell Taylor (Sr., 6-4/205): 20.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, 35.2 mpg
G - #33 Tanner Waldrip (Jr., 5-10/165): 6.1 ppg, 1.6 apg, 1.8 rpg, 20.9 mpg
F - #35 Taran Brown (Sr., 6-8/215): 12.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 44.1 fg%, 27.1 mpg
F - #42 Declan Daly (Sr., 6-8/240): 9.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 55.8 fg%, 28.0 mpg

The First Half
CSUSM won 70-percent of its first 10 games in its first season of CCAA competition and sits in fourth place, a game back in the loss column of first place UC San Diego (10-2). All three of the Cougars' conference losses have come at the hands of UCSD (12/20/15) and second-place Chico State (12/12/15, 1/21/16). CSUSM fell to Chico last week, 83-73, in a game that would have vaulted the Cougars into second place with a win.

CCAA Standings (through 1/27/16)
1. No. 12 UC San Diego 10-2 (.833), 15-3
2. No. 16 Chico State 9-2 (.818), 15-3
3. No. 13 Cal Poly Pomona 8-3 (.727), 15-3
4. Cal State San Marcos 7-3 (.700), 10-6
5. Humboldt State 7-4 (.636), 13-4
6. Sonoma State 6-5 (.545), 11-6
7. Cal State Monterey Bay 6-6 (.500), 8-10
8. San Francisco State 4-7 (.364), 10-7
8. Stanislaus State 4-7 (.364), 5-11
10. Cal State San Bernardino 4-8 (.333), 7-9
11. Cal State Dominguez Hills 3-8 (.273), 9-10
12. Cal State East Bay 3-9 (.250), 7-13
13. Cal State L.A. 2-9 (.182), 3-15

CSUSM In The CCAA Ranks
Team, league games, top five
1. Blocked shots (5.00, 50)
2. Scoring (73.8)
2. Turnover margin (3.00)
3. Steals (7.10)
4. Scoring margin (4.4)
4. Field goal % defense (40.9)
4. Free throw % (70.6)
4. Assist/turnover ratio (1.07)
5. Assists (13.00)

Individual, league games, top five
1. Declan Daly – Rebounding (8.4)
1. Declan Daly – Blocked shots (2.8)
1. Darnell Taylor – Minutes (35.5)
2. Darnell Taylor – Scoring (20.6)
2. Darnell Taylor – Steals (1.9)
2. Akachi Okugo – Free throw % (92.9)
3. Taran Brown – Blocked shots (1.2)
5. Darnell Taylor – Rebounding (7.0)

Cal State East Bay Preview
All-time vs. CSUEB: 1-0

Last Time Out: W, 71-60 (Jan. 7, 2016); CSUSM trailed with 5:35 to play, but held CSUEB to just a pair of field goals the rest of the way in an 11-point victory. Akachi Okugo and Darnell Taylor led the Cougars with 19 points each.

CSUEB Breakdown: The Pioneers are 2-4 since their last clash against the Cougars. After an overtime victory against San Francisco State on Jan. 22, CSUEB has dropped back-to-back matchups at Sonoma State (Jan. 23) and CSUMB (Jan. 26). East Bay ranks 12^th in the CCAA in scoring (61.6) and last in turnover margin (-2.92). However, they lead the CCAA in free throw percentage (75.6).

Cal State Monterey Bay Preview
All-time vs. CSUMB: 1-0

Last Time Out: W, 69-66 (Jan. 9, 2016); Taylor's layup with 15 seconds remaining put CSUSM up one before the Cougars got a key steal and an easy bucket to secure a 69-66 victory. Taylor had 20 points and nine rebounds, while Declan Daly had a double double with 10 points and 10 boards. Taran Brown contributed 17 points.

CSUMB Breakdown: The Otters have gone 3-2 since their last meeting with the Cougars and are most recently coming off an 81-69 win vs. Cal State East Bay. The CCAA's leading scorer, Ryan Nitz, scored 33 points in the win over the Pioneers. CSUMB ranks second in the league in blocked shots (3.67) behind CSUSM.

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 112-31 (.783) on-court record at CSUSM and a 182-60 (.752) 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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