SAN MARCOS, Calif. – In a battle of two of the top three teams in the conference, the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (9-6, 6-4 CCAA) dropped an 85-77 decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills (13-4, 8-2 CCAA) on Saturday afternoon at The Sports Center.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Max Tengan – 20 points | 5 rebounds | 3 assists
Aaron Ragen – 18 points | 5-of-7 3FG | 6 rebounds | 3 assists | 1 steal
Micah Boone – 14 points | 5 rebounds | 2 assists | 1 steal
Remington Rofer – 9 points | 4 rebounds | 1 assist
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Jaylin Leslie opened the scoring with a 3-pointer before both teams traded early baskets and leads, resulting in seven ties and 13 lead changes in the first half.
• CSUSM led 10-7 after a Chris Carrillo pull-up jumper at 16:19, but the Toros responded with a Jalen Brown triple to tie it again.
• The Cougars rallied from an 11-point deficit at 31-20 to take a 32-31 lead with a 12-0 run that was capped by a Micah Boone dunk with 3:59 left in the half.
• The Toros pushed ahead late in the half with a pair of Luke Lin free throws as the Cougars trailed 38-36 at halftime after shooting 40.7% (11-of-27) to CSUDH's 52.0% (13-of-25).
• CSUSM cut a 44-36 deficit to 48-45 on scores from Max Tengan and Boone early in the second half, but the Toros maintained small multi-possession leads.
• The Cougars made it a one-point game at 54-53 following a Boone layup with 12:40 to play, but the Toros answered with a 15-5 run to go up by 11 at 69-58 with 7:27 to go.
• The Cougars fought back again, closing the gap to 73-72 with just over three minutes left after a pair of threes from Tengan.
• CSUDH closed out the game on a 12-5 run, handing CSUSM the 85-77 defeat.

 
QUICK HITS

• CSUSM shot 42.9% (27-of-63) from the field while Cal State Dominguez Hills shot 60.8% (31-of-51).
• The Cougars hit 38.7% (12-of-31) from three while the Toros connected on 57.9% (11-of-19).
• CSUSM held a 37-24 rebounding edge, including an 18-3 advantage on offensive boards.
• The Cougars scored 14 second-chance points compared to CSUDH's two.
• CSUSM committed 13 turnovers while CSUDH committed nine, with the Toros converting those into 17 points.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM takes to the road next week, first stopping at Cal State East Bay on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.