SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The RV/No. 22 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (7-0, 3-0 CCAA) concluded a seven-game homestand and kept its perfect record intact with an 84-82 win over Cal State East Bay (3-6, 1-2 CCAA) on Saturday afternoon at The Sports Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Jayce McCain – 30 points | 8 assists | 4 rebounds | 10-of-10 FT | 4-of-5 3FG
Blake Seits – 18 points | 6 rebounds | 6-of-9 FG | 4-of-4 3FG
Tyrone Nesby IV – 11 points | 4 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Greg Milton III – 8 points | 4 rebounds
Alex Gil-Fernandez – 9 points | 4 assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cougars took their largest lead of the first half on a Watkins 3-pointer that made it 21-16 with 10:38 on the clock.
- CSUEB's DJ Sanders made the backend of his two free throws to even the score at 34-all at the halftime break.
- CSUSM led for 10:27 of the opening 20 minutes while the Pioneers were on top for 5:57.
- In the first half, East Bay shot 48.3% (14-of-29) from the field to CSUSM's 37.9% (11-of-29). The Cougars were able to stay in the game with an 8-of-8 performance from the charity stripe.
- The first 20 minutes included nine lead changes and six ties.
- Twenty of the Pioneers' 34 points in the first half came in the paint.
- After stripping the ball away from East Bay, Milton went the length of the court for a layup to put CSUSM up 44-42 with 15:42 remaining in the game.
- The Cougars went on a 10-3 run capped by a McCain 3-pointer to go up 54-45 with 13:24 on the clock.
- A Seit's 3-pointer from the top of the circle at the 8:35 mark gave CSUSM a double-digit lead (64-53) over the Pioneers.
- The Cougars took their largest lead of the game on 3-pointer by Gil Fernandez that made it 77-65 with 3:42 to go.
- An East Bay jumper by Zafir Williams made it a 77-71 game with two minutes remaining.
- With 4.2 seconds remaining, Pioneers' Justin Vigil sunk a 3-pointer from top of the circle to cut CSUSM's lead to 84-82.
- After Nesby missed a one-and-one free throw with four seconds remaining, East Bay's Zack Perlstein put up a last-second 3-pointer that clanked off the rim and secured the win for CSUSM.
FAST BREAKS
- CSUSM continued its best start in the NCAA Division II era at 7-0.
- The Cougars' seven consecutive home wins are a new team record as a Division II member.
- This is the first time CSUSM has ever started CCAA play at 3-0.
- McCain's 30 points were a career best, passing his previous high of 22 points that he had achieved three previous times. His total was also the highest by a Cougar this season.
- McCain's eight assists tied a career high and were the most by a Cougar this season. He now has the seventh-most assists in program history with 122.
- Going 10-of-10 from the free throw line, McCain is now a perfect 18-of-18 this season.
- Only 24 of CSUSM's 84 points came in the paint.
- The Cougars were held to a season-low 27 rebounds.
- CSUSM ended the game shooting 46.2% (30-of-65) from the field while CSUEB led the way at 53.4% (31-of-58).
- Shooting 47.8% (11-of-23) from three, CSUSM posted a season best from beyond the arc.
- The Cougars led for 26:25 while the Pioneers clocked in at 9:08.
UP NEXT
With its final home game of the calendar year in the books, CSUSM will finally hit the road to face Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Seaside.
