HAYWARD, Calif. – The No. 9/10 Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (14-3, 10-3 CCAA) suffered its second consecutive two-point loss, falling 79-77 to Cal State East Bay (6-12, 4-8 CCAA) on Thursday night at Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Blake Seits – 32 points | 6 rebounds | 4 steals
Alex Gil-Fernandez – 15 points | 11 rebounds
Tyrone Nesby IV – 14 points | 3 assists
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Up 15-14, the Cougars went on a 9-0 run and took their largest lead of the half at 24-14 as Seits drained a 3-pointer with 7:30 to go.
• A 14-4 run by the Pioneers was capped by a DJ Sanders layup and knotted things at 28-all with 2:52 remaining in the first half.
• Tied at 34-34 with a minute to go, CSUSM ended the first 20 minutes with six consecutive points on four good free throws by Seits and a pull-up jumper by McCain.
• Seits finished the first half with a game-leading 21 points while going 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
• While East Bay had the better field-goal percentage at 56.5% (13-of-23), it hurt itself with 15 first-half turnovers. The Cougars capitalized with 21 points off the Pioneers' miscues.
• CSUSM shot 37.5% (12-of-32) from the field, 50% (7-of-14) from beyond the arc and 90% (9-of-10) from the foul line while only committing five turnovers.
• CSUEB retook the lead at 52-51 as Sanders made a layup and free throw with 13:52 to go.
• A 6-0 run by the Cougars was capped by Nesby converting a free throw after making a layup, putting CSUSM up 57-52 with 10:40 on the clock.
• East Bay's Josh Dhatt made a layup with 6:52 remaining to knot the game at 62-all.
• Tied at 71 after a driving layup by Gil-Fernandez with 2:30 to go, the Pioneers began their push to the finish line with a 6-1 run to take their largest lead of the game at 77-72 with 14 seconds remaining.
• After Nesby made it a one-point game at 78-77 on a 3-pointer with seven ticks on the clock, Sanders converted one of his two free throw following an intentional foul with five seconds left to give CSUEB a 79-77 lead.
• CSUSM was never allowed to take a shot in the remaining five seconds, securing the win for CSUEB.
• The Cougars were outscored 45-37 in the second half and were outshot 55.2% -35%.

 
FAST BREAKS

• This was the Cougars' second consecutive two-point loss after falling to Cal State Monterey Bay (71-69) last Saturday at home.
• Seits' 32 points were a career high while his four steals and 11 made free throws tied his personal best.
• Gil-Fernandez's 11 boards were a career high for the redshirt senior.
• The Cougars finished the game shooting 36.1% (26-of-72) from the field – their second-worst performance of the season. The Pioneers ended up at 55.8% (29-of-52) – the best shooting performance by a CSUSM opponent this season.
• CSUSM's 13 steals were its third most of the season.
• The Cougars still own the all-time series lead against the Pioneers at 9-3 and are now 3-3 when playing in Hayward.
• Both games in this season's series against East Bay were decided by two points after CSUSM won the first game 84-82.
• Despite the loss, CSUSM remains second in the CCAA standings following Chico State's 71-67 loss to Cal Poly Pomona.

 
UP NEXT
No. 9/10 CSUSM will round out the week by visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Carson.