SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (3-3, 0-1 CCAA) came up short in a 92-82 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay (6-1, 1-0 CCAA) in their conference opener on Wednesday night at The Sports Center.

TOP PERFORMERS
Keavie Love – 24 points | 6 rebounds | 7 assists | 1 steal
Dexter Stratton – 17 points | 7 rebounds | 2 steals
Micah Boone – 10 points | 4 rebounds

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars opened strong with an 8-2 run fueled by layups from Max Tengan and Remington Rofer and early free throws by Stratton.
• Tied 30-30 with 4:43 to go, CSUSM closed the half on a 14-6 run.
• CSUSM took a 44-36 lead into the halftime break after shooting 48.3% (14-of-29) from the field while holding Monterey Bay to 38.7% (12-of-31).
• Aaron Ragen opened the second half with a three-pointer to extend CSUSM's lead to 47-36, its largest advantage of the night.
• Monterey Bay responded with a series of runs, trimming the margin and getting within 66-63 on an Ariya Briscoe three with 11:09 remaining.
• The Cougars pushed the margin back to 72-65 after layups from Love and Stratton with 7:16 to play.
• With CSUSM up 77-68 with 5:51 to go, CSUMB surged by ending the game on a 24-5 run to take the 92-82 win.
   

QUICK HITS

• CSUSM shot 40.6% (26-of-64) from the field while Monterey Bay posted 50.9% (28-of-55).
• The Cougars finished 9-of-29 (31.0%) behind the arc compared to the Otters' 10-of-22 (45.5%).
• CSUSM held a 37-34 rebounding advantage, including a 17-9 margin on the offensive glass.
• The Cougars recorded 14 second-chance points to CSUMB's 8.
• The Otters made 26-of-30 free throws (86.7%) while CSUSM went 21-of-26 (80.8%).
• CSUSM led the game for 35:17, while CSUMB was only up for 2:39.
• Love's seven assists were a career high and the most by a Cougar this season.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will travel to Seaside for a rematch with CSUMB on Saturday at 3 p.m.