SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – In its third consecutive overtime game, the No. 4/5 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (13-1, 9-1 CCAA) suffered its first loss of the season against No. 5/10 Cal State San Bernardino (14-1, 8-1 CCAA) by a score of 74-64 on Saturday afternoon at Coussoulis Arena.
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TOP PERFORMERS
Greg Milton III – 33 points | 4 rebounds | 3 steals | 2 assists
Joel Mensah – 12 points | 3 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Alex Gil-Fernandez – 6 points | 6 assists
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Coyotes put up an early 9-2 lead before the Cougars clawed their way back to go up 18-17 on a Milton layup with 6:55 to go in the half.
- CSUSB ended the first half on an 18-6 run and took a 35-24 lead to the locker room behind Daytone Jennings' 12 points.
- CSUSM shot just 31.4% (11-of-35) from the floor in the first half and were 0-of-7 from beyond the arc. On the other hand, CSUSB shot 45.5% from the field.
- Down 38-26 in the first minute of the second half, CSUSM went on an 11-2 run to bring it within three at 40-37 with 15:10 to play.
- A jumper by Mensah off a Coyote turnover brought the deficit down to one at 46-45 with 8:39 to go.
- A pair of free throws and a jumper by Milton gave CSUSM its first lead since the first half at 49-47 with 7:20 remaining.
- Both sides stayed within a point of each other until CSUSB's Darius Mickens made a fast-break layup with 3:53 left to play to give the Coyotes a 58-55 lead.
- With CSUSB up 61-60, Milton made a layup and free throw with 14 second remaining to give CSUSM a 63-61 lead.
- With five seconds on the clock, the Coyotes' Brandon Knapper was fouled on a 3-point attempt. After making his first free throw, he missed his second and made his third to send the game to overtime.
- CSUSM shot 50% (13-of-26) in the second half while holding CSUSB to 38.5% (10-of-26).
- The overtime period was all CSUSB as the Cougars scored just one point on a made free throw.
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FAST BREAKS
- Milton's 33 points tied for the eighth most in program history and were the most by a Cougar since Ethan Alvano's 38 against Cal State Monterey Bay on Jan. 13, 2018.
- This was the second time in program history that the Cougars played in three consecutive overtime games. CSUSM last did it in 2015-16 against BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade and Humboldt State.
- CSUSM's 34.8% (24-of-69) performance from the field was its worst of the season. The Cougars had shot no worse than 40.9% coming into today's game.
- CSUSM was outrebounded 50-33 – its largest deficit of the year.
- The Cougars tallied a double-digit steal total for the sixth time this season as they ended up with 12.
- The game saw 14 lead changes with six ties.
- CSUSM's time with the lead of 3:31 was its least of the season.
- The Cougars' 13-game winning streak ends as the second longest in program history.
- With the CCAA standings being decided by winning percentage this season, CSUSM is still first at .900 with CSUSB staying in second at .889.
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UP NEXT
The Cougars will return to The Sports Center on Thursday to face San Francisco State at 7:30 p.m.
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