POMONA, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team shot a season-high 60.9 percent (14-23) from behind the arc to defeat Cal Poly Pomona by a final score of 83-64 in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matchup, Saturday at Kellogg Gym.
The Cougars improve to 2-2 in conference play and 7-3 overall with the win. The Broncos remain winless in the CCAA at 0-3 and drop to 2-5 overall.
CSUSM made 56.9 percent (29-51) of its field goals, going 14-for-23 from long distance, and limited Cal Poly Pomona's shooting to 41.8 percent (23-55) from the floor and 21.7 percent (5-23) from three-point range. The Cougars outrebounded the Broncos 37-27.
"I'm very pleased with the effort tonight," said interim head coach
B.J. Foster. "The ball movement was excellent. We shared the ball which led to a lot of open looks and great shots."
Senior guard
Tyson Kygar and junior guard
Josh Spiers led CSUSM with 20 points apiece. Both went berserk from deep as Kygar shot 6-for-7 and Spiers made 5-of-10 from behind the arc. Junior forward
Joe Boyd recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, his third straight and sixth overall of the season. Junior guard
Ethan Alvano was the other Cougar in double figures with 10 points. Jordan Ogundiran and William Christmas were Cal Poly Pomona's leading scorers with 23 and 14 points, respectively.
The Cougars grabbed a 9-8 advantage after an Alvano layup four minutes into the game and never relinquished the lead after that. CSUSM stretched the margin to 16 on a Boyd layup, but the Broncos closed it to 11 points at halftime, 43-32. The Cougars went 16-for-23 from the floor and 8-for-12 from three-point range in the first half.
Cal Poly Pomona fired back in the second half and cut the gap to as much as five points on two different occasions. After two free throws from Ogundiran made it a 51-46 game, Spiers and Kygar each nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to stretch out the Cougar advantage to 11 points. CSUSM grabbed its biggest lead of the game, 83-61, on a three-pointer from redshirt freshman guard
Alec Frank with 1:18 left and cruised the rest of the way for the win.
The Cougars will have nine days off before another road test. CSUSM will travel to California Baptist on Monday, Dec. 19. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
