TURLOCK, Calif. – A pair of 20-point performances by Zack Perlstein and Greg Milton III helped the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (2-4, 2-0 CCAA) earn a 75-69 win over Stanislaus State (2-6, 0-2 CCAA) on Thursday night at Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Zack Perlstein – 20 points | 6 assists | 3 steals | 4 rebounds
Greg Milton III – 20 points | 3 rebounds
Joel Mensah – 13 points | 9 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Jayce McCain – 11 points | 5 assists
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars started the game with an 8-0 lead over the Warriors.
• Going up 14-6 with Milton's third 3-pointer at the 15:22 mark of the period, 12 of the Cougars' first 14 points came from beyond the arc.
• CSUSM took its largest lead of the first period at 16-6 on a jumper from Mensah.
• With CSUSM up 19-11, Stanislaus went on a 9-0 run and took its first lead of the night with a 3-pointer by Isaiah Jones to give the Warriors a 20-19 lead with 8:37 remaining the half.
• After a 3-pointer by Chase Bowsher put the Cougars up 34-30 with 2:35 to go in the period, the Warriors ended the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 39-34 lead.
• Milton led all players with 15 points at halftime as he went 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
• The Cougars shot 52% (13-of-25) from the field and 63.6% (7-of-11) from downtown in the first half while the Warriors came in at 50% (13-of-26) from the field and 60% (6-of-10) from beyond the arc.
• Stan State continued its run out of the break as a layup by Marlon Short made it 11 consecutive points for the Warriors 28 seconds into the half.
• The Warriors took their largest lead of the game at 51-40 as Will Pallesi drained a 3-pointer with 14:18 remaining.
• Still trailing by 11 at 56-45 with 10:52 to go, CSUSM went on a 17-2 run to go up 62-58 after a pair of free throws by McCain with 4:44 remaining.
• With the Cougars up 64-60, a second-chance 3-pointer by Benno Zecic brought the Warriors deficit down to 64-63 with 2:14 to go.
• CSUSM went on a 7-0 run following Zecic's basket to go up 71-63 with a couple of free throws by Milton.
• Stanislaus made it a five-point game at 74-69 with a driving layup by Kobe Ordonio, but with just 21 seconds to play, it wasn't enough time to overcome CSUSM's lead.
• CSUSM shot 60% (15-of-25) from the field in the second half while holding Stan State to 40% (12-of-30).

 
FAST BREAKS

• CSUSM ended the game shooting a season-best 56% (28-of-50) while Stanislaus came in at 44.6% (25-of-56).
• The Cougars' 3-point field-goal percentage of 56.3 was the team's best performance from downtown since going 63.6% (14-of-22) against San Diego Christian on Nov. 12, 2019.
• CSUSM committed a season-low eight turnovers to Stan State's 12 while leading the way in steals at 5-4.
• The Cougars racked up 15 points off Warrior turnovers.
• Both teams tallied 14 assists for the game. This was the Cougars second consecutive game with 14.
• The Warriors had the advantage in rebounds at 32-25.
• The game featured 10 lead changes and two ties.
• Perlstein's six assists were a career high while his three steals matched his high.
• Mensah's season-high nine rebounds came up just one shy of a double-double and matching his career high.
• This was Milton's third 20-plus point performance of the season and his second consecutive.
• CSUSM is now 8-3 in the all-time series against Stanislaus and is 4-2 when playing in Turlock.
• The Cougars have now won the past three meetings against the Warriors.
• This was CSUSM's first win in Turlock since Jan. 20, 2018.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will conclude its four-game road trip on Saturday as it travels to Chico State for a 3 p.m. tip.