SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Beginning its slate of CCAA home games, the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (2-5, 2-1 CCAA) will host San Francisco State (4-4, 0-2 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before welcoming Cal State Monterey Bay (2-4, 0-1 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at The Sports Center.
 
The CSUSM Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be hosting a holiday toy drive at both of this week's games. Fans can bring a new, unwrapped toy and receive free entry. All gifts collected will be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos.

LAST WEEK

• The Cougars moved to 2-1 in CCAA action last weekend with a 75-69 victory at Stanislaus State on Thursday before taking an 83-77 loss at Chico State on Saturday.
• Zack Perlstein and Greg Milton III led the Cougars with a pair of 20-point performances in Thursday's victory over the Warriors. This was Milton's third consecutive game scoring 20-plus points.
• Perlstein and Milton each had the same point total in Saturday's game against the Wildcats as they ended the game with 19 points.
• Joel Mensah earned his first double-double as a Cougar with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against Chico.

COUGARS BY THE NUMBER

• CSUSM leads the CCAA and ranks 13th nationally for the fewest turnovers per game at 10.4.
• The Cougars also have the conference's best turnover margin at 5.0 and rank 22nd nationally.
• With a field-goal percentage of 47.6, CSUSM ranks second in the league and 57th nationally.
• The Cougars lead the CCAA with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.12.
• Shooting 35.8% from beyond the arc, CSUSM ranks third in the CCAA.
• Racking up eight steals per game, the Cougars rank fourth in the conference.
• Jayce McCain has the league's best assist/turnover ratio at 3.44 and ranks 20th nationally.
• Logging 36 minutes per game, Milton leads the conference and ranks 27th nationally.
• Milton's 21.4 points per game rank second in the CCAA and 21st nationally while his 52.8 field-goal percentage is fifth in the conference.
• Mensah is the CCAA's third-best rebounder at 7.9 per contest and is averaging 5.71 defensive boards.
• Currently with 60 career games played, McCain is three shy of matching the Cougar record of 63 set by Adam Eakles (2012-14).

 

GAME 8 | SAN FRANCISCO STATE
Date	Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022
Time	7:30 p.m.
Location	San Marcos, Calif.
Venue	The Sports Center
Records	CSUSM (2-5, 2-1 CCAA) SF STATE (4-4, 0-2 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network
Tickets	HomeTown Ticketing

CCAA HOME OPENER AGAINST THE GATORS

• CSUSM enters Thursday's game against SF State with three consecutive wins against the Gators.
• In last season's first meeting, the Cougars won 89-55 in San Francisco – the largest ever margin of victory against the Gators.
• CSUSM is 5-6 in the all-time series against SF State and is 2-4 when playing in San Marcos.
• The Gators are 4-4 to begin the season but started CCAA play on rough note by going 0-2 last weekend.
• SF State fell 76-66 against No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday before falling 96-89 to Cal Poly Pomona in triple overtime on Saturday.
• The Gators have four players averaging double figures with Toby Okwuokei leading the way at 13.4 points per game.
• SF State is the fourth-best rebounding team in the CCAA at 38.62 per game.
• Forcing 16.88 turnovers per game, the Gators rank second in the conference.
• SF State has the league's third-best scoring offense at 76.9 points per game.
• The Gators are allowing the ninth-most points per game in the CCAA at 76.6.
• Turning the ball over at a rate of 16.6 per game, the Gators rank 11th in the CCAA.
• SF State was picked to finish 11th in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

 

GAME 9 | CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
Date	Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022
Time	3 p.m.
Location	San Marcos, Calif.
Venue	The Sports Center
Records	CSUSM (2-5, 2-1 CCAA) CSUMB (2-4, 0-1 CCAA)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network
Tickets	HomeTown Ticketing

 

WEEKEND FINALE AGAINST THE OTTERS

• The Cougars and Otters split last season's series with each team winning on the other's home floor.
• CSUSM is 7-3 in the all-time series against CSUMB and is 4-1 when playing in San Marcos.
• The Otters fell 76-67 in their CCAA opener against Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday.
• Trailing No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino 42-36 with 1:33 to go in the first half on Saturday, the game was suspended due to a roof leak at the Otter Sports Center.
• Both of the Otters' wins this season came against GNAC opponents Central Washington (77-57) and Alaska (80-77).
• CSUMB has played just one road game this season, falling 87-80 at Western Oregon.
• The Otters have the CCAA's second-best 3-point field-goal percentage at 38.7.
• With a turnover margin of 3.3, CSUMB ranks second in the conference.
• An assist/turnover ratio of 1.10 ranks the Otters second in the league.
• CSUMB ranks 10th in the CCAA for scoring defense (76.7) and field-goal percentage defense (48.1).
• Joe Wall is the Otters' top scorer at 18 points per game, ranking fourth in the CCAA.
• Wall's 4.33 made 3-pointers per game lead the nation while his 3-point field-goal percentage of 48.1 leads the conference and ranks 23rd nationally.
• Wall is also the Otters' top rebounder at 7.0 per game, ranking eighth in the league.
• CSUMB was picked to finish eighth in the 2022 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

A NEW CAMPAIGN

• The Cougars were voted to finish second in the 2022-23 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Nine Cougars return from the 2021-22 team, including All-CCAA first-teamer Jayce McCain and second-teamer Greg Milton III.
• CSUSM is joined this year by five transfers, including sophomore Quinn Denker (West Valley College), redshirt junior Edwyn Collins (Riverside City College), graduate Zack Perlstein (Cal State East Bay), redshirt junior Bing Huang (Johnson County CC) and redshirt junior Chris Howard (Palomar College).
• Rounding out the Cougars' roster of 15 is lone freshman Jermaine Rogers II (Ruben S. Ayala HS).

 

THE FOSTER FILE

• Head coach B.J. Foster enters his sixth season in charge of the CSUSM Men's Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
• Under his leadership, the Cougars earned their first CCAA Tournament Championship in 2022 and made their first NCAA West Regional appearance.
• Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
• Foster has tallied a career record of 81-64 (.559).