POMONA, Calif. – The No. 4/5 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (13-0, 9-0 CCAA) kept its perfect season alive with a 62-52 overtime win at Cal Poly Pomona (7-5, 3-5 CCAA) on Thursday night at Kellogg Arena.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Joel Mensah – 19 points | 9-of-12 FG | 4 rebounds
Blake Seits – 18 points | 7 rebounds
Jayce McCain – 10 points | 10 rebounds
Greg Milton III – 8 rebounds | 5 points | 2 assists
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After CPP's Dane Erikstrup made a 3-pointer to begin the Broncos' scoring, CSUSM scored six unanswered point to take an 8-3 lead with 15:25 left in the half.
• The Broncos retook the lead at 10:53 with a 7-1 run to put them up 10-9.
• Both teams stayed within a basket of each other until two good free throws by McCain gave CSUSM a 23-19 lead with 2:25 to go.
• The Cougars took their largest lead of the half at 25-19 as Mensah got a layup to go with 1:55 remaining.
• CSUSM went to the locker room with a 27-23 lead behind Mensah's game-high 12 points (6-of-7), matching his season high.
• The Cougars shot 42.9% (12-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes but went 0-of-9 from beyond the arc. The Broncos ended the half shooting 34.6% (9-of-26).
• All but five of CSUSM's first-half points came in the paint.
• The Broncos busted out of the gate to begin the second half with a 20-4 run that gave them their largest lead of the night at 43-33 with 11:22 left in the second period.
• From that point, the Cougars played chip away with a 17-7 run of their own and finally tied the game at 50-all on a layup from Mensah with 1:19 remaining.
• CPP missed its final two field goal attempts of the half at the 45-second mark and the two-second mark, sending the game to overtime.
• It was all CSUSM in the extra five minutes of play as the Cougars outscored the Broncos 12-2. CPP never made a field goal and saw its lone two points come on free throws.
• Seits came alive in the extra period, shooting 3-of-3 with two 3 pointers.
• From the 2:28 mark in the second half, CSUSM ended the game on a 16-2 run.
• The Cougars concluded the game shooting 42.3% (22-of-52) while holding the Broncos to 34.4% (21-of-61).

 
FAST BREAKS

• CSUSM's 13 consecutive wins are the second-most in program history and most as a Division II member. The Cougars had 23 straight victories during the 2013-14 season.
• This was the Cougars' second consecutive game with an overtime win ­– a first for the program.
• With 11 games remaining after tonight, the Cougars are now guaranteed to finish the regular season with a winning record for the first time since 2017-18.
• The win snapped a five-game losing streak against the Broncos, and it was the Cougars' first since Feb. 6, 2018 in Pomona.
• CSUSM is now 4-6 in the all-time series against CPP and is 3-3 when playing on the road.
• The Broncos' 52 points were the lowest scored in 10 meetings with the Cougars.
• This was the second consecutive contest between CSUSM and CPP to go to overtime.
• The Cougars committed more turnovers than their opponent for the first time this season at 16-15, and it was the second-most turnovers by CSUSM this season.
• CPP's 21 fouls were the most by a CSUSM opponent this season while its 42.9% (6-of-14) free-throw performance was the worst.
• This was CSUSM's eighth double-digit win of the year.
• Mensah's 19 points and nine made field goals were a career high.
• McCain's double-double was the second by a Cougar this season while his 10 rebounds were a career high.
• Milton's eight rebounds tied his career high for the fourth-time this season.

 
UP NEXT
The Cougars will have another tough test on Saturday as they travel to No. 5/10 Cal State San Bernardino (13-1, 7-1 CCAA) for a 3 p.m. tipoff.