Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – In front of a record-setting crowd of over 1,100 fans at Pioneer Gym, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team defeated visiting Humboldt State 78-70 Friday night. With the win, East Bay remains undefeated at home this season, upping their mark to 3-0. It was a strong overall effort for the Pioneers (5-6, 4-3 CCAA), who shot well in the first half, did a good job getting to the free throw line, and refused to relinquish the lead down the stretch of what was an extremely physical game.

The Pioneers led most of the first half and were able to stretch it out to a 10-point lead behind hot shooting from Jason Smith. The Jacks (5-6, 1-6 CCAA) countered with a run of their own to get it back within one possession right before the break. Jacari Whitfield converted a running layup – his only field goal of the night – with three seconds left to give East Bay a 35-30 lead at recess.

The second half remained close through the first two media timeouts, but the Pioneers slowly started to pull away thanks to solid foul shooting and several Lumberjack turnovers. Gabe Kindred provided a huge spark off the bench, finishing with 18 points to lead the team, highlighted by a 12-for-15 effort at the free throw line. All in all, East Bay attempted a season-high 50 three throws and won comfortably despite being out-rebounded 46 to 35 in the game.

The Pioneers forced 20 turnovers and committed just 10. Impressively, they got the victory despite going just 4-for-17 from beyond the arc. Three-point shooting has been closely tied to the team's success so far this season, but with the exception of Smith, who made all four of East Bay's threes, the Pioneers were able to find other ways to score tonight.

In one of the weirder statistical oddities of the season, East Bay and Humboldt State both shot exactly 39.6 percent on 21-of-53 from the field. What's more, the first half saw the Pioneers shoot 43.3 percent (13-for-30) and the Jacks hit at just 34.8 percent (8-for-23) The second half was a mirror opposite, with the Pioneers shooting 34.8 percent on 8-for-23 from the floor, and you guessed it, Humboldt shooting 43.3 percent on 13-for-30.

Smith finished with 15 points and five rebounds, going 4-for-6 from long distance. Ryan Hebebrand had one of his best offensive games, racking up 16 points to go along with five boards. Ota Okungbowa showed tremendous hustle and crashed the boards all night despite being undersized compared to the HSU bigs. He ended up leading the team and setting a career best with nine rebounds.

Jurrell Turner kicked in seven points, four rebounds, and three assists. The senior had to play limited minutes because of foul trouble, but East Bay was able to pick up the slack for its leading offensive player. Vincent Capellino also added seven points, while Whitfield notched five points and four rebounds.

For the Jacks, Austin Bryan led all scorers with 20 points, though most of his damage was in the first half before the Pioneers made some adjustments to contain him. Darren Turpin added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Brett McConnell finished with a game-high 11 boards.

The Pioneers are back in action tomorrow night and put their perfect home record on the line against the top-ranked team in the conference. Cal Poly Pomona, No. 9 in the nation with a record of 10-1, visits Pioneer Gym on Saturday, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. after the women's game.