SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Four Cougars scored in double figures as the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team defeated Cal State L.A. 73-71 in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matchup, Saturday at The Sports Center.
CSUSM snaps a two-game losing skid and improves to 8-5 overall and 3-3 in the CCAA. CSULA drops to 6-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
The Cougars outrebounded the Golden Eagles 31-28. The turnover margin was relatively the same as CSUSM had 15 and CSULA had 14. The Cougars shot 48.1 percent (25-52) from the field, 50 percent (7-14) from behind the arc and 76.2 percent (16-21) from the free throw line, while the Golden Eagles were 46.2 percent (24-52) from the floor, 42.9 percent (12-28) from three-point range and 61.1 percent (11-18) from the charity stripe.
Senior guard
Tyson Kygar nailed four three-pointers and had 18 points to lead CSUSM. Junior guards
Josh Spiers,
Ethan Alvano and
Brian Wright had 13, 12 and 12 points, respectively. Junior forward
Joe Boyd collected 10 rebounds. Jordan Wilson was CSULA's leading scorer with 26 points. Travis Hammonds recorded a double-double for the Golden Eagles with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Neither team could grab a clear advantage in the first half as it features seven lead changes and three ties. The Cougars went into halftime tied with CSULA, 31-31.
Kygar drained a trey just five seconds in the second half to give CSUSM the lead for good, 34-31, as CSULA trailed for the remained of the game. The Cougars grabbed their biggest lead of the game, 60-45, on Kygar's fourth three-pointer of the contest with 11:39 left.
The Golden Eagles answered back and cut the margin all the way down to two points, 71-69, on a triple by Hammonds. From there, both teams traded two free throws as CSUSM led 73-71 with 14 seconds left. With the clock winding down, Hammonds had two game-tying shots near the basket, but came up empty. CSULA had a chance with a baseline out-of-bounds play with one second remaining, but ended up throwing the ball away without an attempt.
CSUSM will hit the road for its next two contests. The Cougars will take on Cal State East Bay on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 3:30 p.m.
