Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Pioneer men's basketball team opened the 2011-12 campaign on a successful note by defeating Dominican University 88-68 before 571 fans in Pioneer Gym.

“This was a good first game for us,” Pioneer coach Will Biggs said. “We did a nice job of keeping focused and our perimeter defense was very effective tonight.”

Cal State East Bay jumped out to an 11-3 advantage and extended the lead to 39-22 on a basket by Tre Mauldin with 5:02 remaining in the first half.

The Pioneers led by as many as 22 points with 2:09 left.  Jurrell Turner converted a layup with 17 second left to give the Pioneers a 51-32 halftime advantage.

Jammall Clark hit a jumper to cut the Pioneers' margin to 53-36 with 17:48 remaining in the game.

Nick Marshall nailed a three-pointer as the Pioneers went on 8-2 run to extend their lead to 61-38 with 16:14 left.

The Pioneers maintained their 23 point advantage for the following five minutes.

The Penguins came within 14 points 72-58 with 7:27 remaining, but the Pioneers put the game away three minutes later when Mark Samuels hit a three-pointer to give him a game-high 29 points and Cal State East Bay an 81-60 advantage.

“I was very pleased with our effort against Dominican,” Biggs said. “We had a great crowd for our home opener and they were very supportive of the things we did on the court.” 

For the game, Cal State East Bay shot 50.7 percent from the floor and converted 9 of 18 three-pointers. The Pioneers played tough on defense causing 25 Penguin turnovers.

Besides Samuels 29 points, the Pioneers had three other players score in double figures. Freshman Jacari Whitfield poured in 17 points on 7 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 three-pointers. He added four assists. Roshun Wynne added 11 points and four steals followed by Marshall with 10 points. Marshall led the Pioneers on the boards with seven rebounds.