Saturday, Nov. 17 @ Academy of Art (0-2, 0-0 PacWest)
Kezar Pavilion
3 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Audio

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team heads back to San Francisco this weekend for the second of three straight games in the city. On Saturday afternoon the Pioneers (1-1, 0-0 CCAA) will take on Academy of Art, with the game scheduled for 3 p.m. at Kezar Pavilion. Currently sitting at 1-1, East Bay will look for its first road win, hoping to take a winning record into next week's CCAA opener at SF State.

RECAPPING THE WEEK

There was some good and some bad for Cal State East Bay in the team's first two games, but the results were largely positive. The Pioneers pulled out a thrilling 63-62 win over Notre Dame de Namur at home in the season opener. Senior Jurrell Turner led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds. Newcomer Gabe Kindred added 10 points, seven boards, and four assists, and hit a free throw with 0.8 seconds left that gave East Bay the win.

Tuesday night, the Pioneers hit the road to take on the San Francisco Dons, the lone Division I opponent on their schedule. Despite shooting just 34.8 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three-point range, East Bay played the Dons tight, even holding a lead midway through the second half. USF made a late run to pull away with the win, but it was a solid showing for the Pioneers against a talented opponent. Kindred led the team with 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Turner and redshirt freshman Ota Okungbowa added 10 points apiece, and Nick Marshall pulled in 10 boards.

EARLY LEADERS

Shooting has been an Achilles heal for East Bay in the first two games, although that's a problem many teams have early in the season as they shake off the rust. The Pioneers are just 13 for 40 from behind the arc (32.5 percent). Even worse, the team has only hit on 51.4 percent of its free throws thus far. If the Pioneers can bring those numbers up, they should be able to compete with every team on their schedule.

Turner was extremely efficient on offense for East Bay in the opening week of games. He was 9-for-12 from the field and leads the team with 14.0 ppg and 16 free throws attempted. Kindred added 12.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.5 apg, so far living up to his reputation as a dynamic combo guard that can rebound above his size. Reigning CCAA Freshman of the Year Jacari Whitfield averaged 9.0 ppg in the two contests.

SCOUTING THE URBAN KNIGHTS

Led by first-year head coach Julius Barnes, Academy of Art is off to an 0-2 start to the season. The team lost games to Seattle Pacific and Western Washington as part of a Seattle road trip last week. Senior guard Ameer Shamsud-din racked up 27 points in the Urban Knights' opener against SPU, and former Pioneer Rodrigo Maza notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Czar Robotham and Akil Johnson both topped the 20-point mark in the team's loss to WWU the following afternoon. Shamsud-din is leading Academy of Art, averaging 21.0 ppg in the young season. Despite being winless, ART U is shooting an impressive 47.9 percent from the field as a team. The Pioneers defeated the Urban Knights by a score of 80-70 last season in a game also played at Kezar Pavilion.