SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team fell to Cal State L.A., 98-96, in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action on Thursday night inside The Sports Center.
 
CSUSM drops to 19-8 overall and 14-7 in CCAA play. The Golden Eagles improve to 13-14, 9-12 CCAA following the win.
 
Senior Ethan Alvano scored a game-high 24 points to go along with five assists and four steals. Classmates Josh Spiers and Joe Boyd finished with 18 points and 17 points, respectively.
 
CSULA shot a staggering 56.3 percent from the field including 17-of-29 (58.62 percent) in the second half. The Golden Eagles also had a strong shooting percentage from the perimeter, shooting 44.4 percent (12-of-27) for the game.
 
Trailing 49-38 at halftime CSUSM opened the second half with an 18-7 run and eventually tie the score (56-56) on a Spiers 3-pointer with 14:37 remaining.
 
The Golden Eagles would eventually stretch their lead to six points at 72-66 following a 3-pointer from Grant Arthur with 10:17 left to play.
 
The Cougars continued to chip away before eventually taking their first lead of the second half, 83-82, on an Alvano layup at the 5:16 mark.
 
With under 10 seconds to play, Alvano would hit both ends of his free throws to make it a 97-96 CSULA lead with seven seconds remaining.
 
Following an Alvano foul out of a timeout, CSULA's Devin Means would eventually miss the back end of his two free throws with five seconds left and would give CSUSM one last hope of a chance. As seconds trickled down, Alvano was unable to get a clean shot off as time expired.
 
CSUSM shot 33-of-72 (45.8 percent) from the field including 38.2 percent from behind the arc for the game.
 
Each team had 16 turnovers apiece.
 
The Cougars will wrap-up their 2017-18 regular season schedule on Saturday, Feb. 24 when they host Cal State Dominguez Hills on Senior Night. Prior to tip-off, there will be a special senior presentation honoring seven Cougars: Brian Wright, Josh Spiers, Tanner Waldrip, Collin Host, Joe Boyd, Ethan Alvano and Chris Porter. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.