SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (3-0) recorded its second win over Montana State Billings (1-2) in three days with an 80-72 victory on Monday night at The Sports Center.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Blake Seits – 24 points | 8-of-12 FG | 4 rebounds | 3 steals
Jayce McCain – 13 points | 4-of-4 FT | 3 rebounds
Greg Milton III – 8 points | 8 rebounds | 2 steals
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A Milton jumper put CSUSM up 19-15 at the 13:14 mark of the opening half.
• A 3-pointer by Brad Finn followed by Emmanuel Ajanaku's jumper gave MSUB a 27-22 lead with 8:52 remaining in the first half.
• McCain connected on a pull-up jumper at the 7:36 mark as the shot clock went off to cut CSUSM's deficit to 27-24
• A Chase Bowsher 3-pointer from the corner evened the score at 29-all with 5:44 remaining in the first half.
• The Cougars went to the locker room with their first halftime deficit of the season at 40-37.
• CSUSM shot 12-of-27 (44.4%) for the half while MSUB was 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the field and 7-of-16 (43.8%) from beyond the arc.
• An 8-0 run capped by a McCain 3-pointer put CSUSM on top for the first time since the first half at 50-49 with 12:52 remaining. Tyrone Nesby IV followed with another 3-pointer to extend the Cougars' lead to 53-49 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
• The Yellowjackets retook the lead at 59-57 on a Nicholas Sebastiao 3-pointer at 8:34.
• That sparked an 11-2 CSUSM run to put the Cougars up 68-61 with 3:53 remaining in the game.
• MSUB charged back to close the gap at 68-67, capped by an old-fashion 3-point play by Damen Thacker at 3:13.
• Back-to-back buckets by Lyle Sutton and McCain gave CSUSM a 72-67 lead with 1:50 remaining.
• McCain's four made free throws in the final 20 seconds sealed the deal.
• CSUSM shot 43.8% (14-of-32) in the second half, but MSUB still had the advantage at 48.1% (13-of-27). However, four more Yellowjacket turnovers (10-6) spelled out the difference as the Cougars scored eight points off turnovers.

 
FAST BREAKS

• This marks the first time in the NCAA Division II era (2015-present) the Cougars have opened a season at 3-0 with the last time occurring in the 2013-14 season.
• CSUSM tallied 11 steals to MSUB's two.
• The Cougars had a slight lead with time of possession at 19:38 compared to the Yellowjackets' 17:21.
• The game featured 12 lead changes and six ties.
• CSUSM finished the game shooting 44.1% (26-of-59) while MSUB maintained the advantage at 48.2% (27-of-56).
• The Cougars hit a season-high nine 3-pointers.
• CSUSM is now 2-0 in the all-time series against MSUB.
• This was Seits' third consecutive 20-plus point performance.

 

Head Coach BJ Foster breaks down the Cougars' 80-72 win over Montana State Billings. This is the first time since 2013-14 and the first time in the Division II era (2015-present) that CSUSM has started a season with three consecutive wins. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/C3a8f8TuQV

— CSUSM Men's Basketball (@CSUSM_MBB) November 16, 2021

 
UP NEXT
The Cougars will host cross-county foe No. 24/13 Point Loma on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. as part of CSUSM Homecoming.