SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (1-3) will open CCAA play at home by facing Cal State LA (4-1) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. in The Sports Center.
 
PREVIOUS GAMES

• The Cougars last played on Nov. 17 and 19 at The Sports Center against then-No. 11 Point Loma and Stanton.
• In its home opener against PLNU, CSUSM fell 75-62 while Camren Pierce put up 15 points, six assists and four rebounds for the Cougars.
• The Cougars bounced back with an 89-37 win over the Elks two days later. CSUSM's 52-point margin of victory was the second largest in program history and the most by the Cougars in the NCAA Division II era (2015-present).
• CSUSM's win over Stanton was head coach Nick Booker's first career victory.

 
COUGAR FACTS

• Shooting 79.2% from the charity stripe, CSUSM has the 20th-best free throw percentage in Division II.
• The Cougars' turnover margin of 6.0 ranks 19th nationally.
• CSUSM has the seventh-most 3-point attempts per game nationally at 31.5 while its 9.2 made attempts per game are the second most in the CCAA.
• The Cougars' 33.75 bench points per game ranks 36th nationally.
• CSUSM is forcing 17.25 turnovers per game, ranking third in the conference.
• The Cougars are blocking 3.2 shots per game to rank third in the league.
• CSUSM has the fourth-best field-goal percentage defense at 41.5%, ranking fourth in the CCAA.
• Camren Pierce is one of 18 players in Division II with a perfect free-throw percentage.
• Charlie Henderson's 64.5 field-goal percentage ranks 35th nationally and third in the CCAA while his 1.25 blocked shots per game rank second in the conference.
• Edwyn Collins is averaging 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. ranking fourth in the CCAA in both categories.

 

GAME 5 | CAL STATE LA
Date	Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023
Time	7:30 p.m.
Location	San Marcos, Calif.
Venue	The Sports Center
Records	CSUSM (1-3) LA (4-1)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network
Tickets	HomeTown Ticketing

CCAA OPENER AGAINST LA

• LA began the season at 4-1 with its lone loss coming at Central Washington on Nov. 17.
• Last week, the Golden Eagles defeated Azusa Pacific on the road, 70-68.
• The Golden Eagles have the fourth-best turnover margin in Division II at 11.8 and are forcing the seventh-most turnovers per game at 21.40.
• LA ranks 13th nationally at 11.4 steals per game.
• The Golden Eagles have the nation's ninth-best free throw percentage at 81.2%.
• LA is allowing the 10th-most point per game in the CCAA at 70.6 while its scoring offense of 75.4 points per game rank sixth in the league.
• The Golden Eagles have the worst rebounding margin in the conference at -13.4 while their 27.60 rebounds per game also rank last.
• Shane Bell's team-leading 16.4 points per game rank third in the conference.
• Dominic Escobar's 2.60 steals per game lead the CCAA.
• CSUSM is on a five-game winning streak against LA and is 8-5 in the all-time series.
• The Cougars' have won the past four meetings against the Golden Eagles at The Sports Center with the last loss occurring on Feb. 22, 2018.
• LA was picked to finish eighth in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

 

GAME 6 | CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Date	Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023
Time	3 p.m.
Location	San Marcos, Calif.
Venue	The Sports Center
Records	CSUSM (1-3) CSUDH (4-1)
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Video ($)	CCAA Network
Tickets	HomeTown Ticketing

WEEKEND FINALE AGAINST THE TOROS

• Like LA, CSUDH is also 4-1 to begin the season with its lone loss coming to Western Washington in its season opener on Nov. 10.
• Since then, the Toros have won four consecutive games, including a 71-56 victory against Concordia and an 80-78 decision at Biola this past week.
• Before facing CSUSM, CSUDH will travel to Sonoma State for its CCAA opener on Thursday.
• The Toros are committing the 12th-fewest turnovers in the nation at 9.0 per game and have the 18th-best turnover margin at 6.2.
• CSUDH's scoring defense of 64.8 points per game ranks fourth in the CCAA while its scoring offense of 73.4 points per game ranks eighth.
• Jeremy Dent-Smith leads the Toros with 14.4 points per game while his 49.2 field-goal percentage ranks ninth in the CCAA.
• Jakob Alamudun's 7.0 rebounds per game rank sixth in the conference.
• The Toros were picked to finish fifth in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The Cougars have won the past three games against the Toros and are 7-5 in the all-time series.
• Four of the last five meetings against CSUDH have occurred in San Marcos.

2023-24 OUTLOOK

• First-year head coach Nick Booker takes over the reins of the CSUSM men's basketball program after spending three seasons as an assistant at UC San Diego.
• The Cougars return six from last season's roster, including Edwyn Collins, Chris Howard, Bing Huang, Jermaine Rogers II, Jack Schultz and Donovan Watkins.
• CSUSM has nine newcomers for 2023-24, including transfers Uriah Foster, Charlie Henderson, Teagen Hoard, Luc Krystkowiak, Camren Pierce, Mike Pope, Jayden White and Justin White while welcoming true freshman Max Tengan.
• The Cougars' 30-game slate includes two road exhibitions to go along with 13 home games and 15 road games in the regular season.
• CSUSM was selected to finish seventh in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE BOOKER FILE

• Nick Booker became the Cougars' third head coach in program history on June 5, 2023.
• Booker came to CSUSM from UC San Diego where was the Tritons' assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons beginning in June 2020.
• Prior to UCSD, Booker was the associate head coach at Eastern Washington from April 2017 through May 2020 and was named the top assistant coach in the Big Sky Conference by Stadium.
• While at Eastern Washington, Booker helped the Eagles win 59 games overall and a Big Sky Conference Championship in 2019-20 while helping develop two Big Sky Players of the Year.
• Before Eastern Washington, Booker was the director of basketball operations at Davidson College in 2016-17 after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at UC Irvine from April 2011 to March 2016, where he was also the director of basketball operations for one season prior.
• Booker's first coaching gig as an assistant came at Miramar Community College in 2006-07, and he later became the assistant coach and interim head coach at Saddleback Community College from July 2007 through August 2010.
• Booker earned his bachelor's in history at Davidson College in 2004and earned his master's in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2010.
• At Davidson, Booker was a starter for the 2002 Southern Conference Championship team that faced Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament and contributed to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2001 and 2002.