Friday, Jan. 11
vs. Humboldt State (5-5, 1-5 CCAA)
Pioneer Gym
7:30 p.m.
Live Stats 

Saturday, Jan. 12
vs. Cal Poly Pomona (9-1, 5-1 CCAA)
Pioneer Gym
7:30 p.m.
Live Stats 

HAYWARD, Calif. – With the CCAA race heating up, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team (4-6, 3-3 CCAA) returns home this week for a pair of tough games. On Friday, the Pioneers host Humboldt State on “Jam the Gym” Night, as fans are encouraged to join the race to 1,000 fans to set a new CSUEB attendance record. The next night, the men welcome in No. 9 Cal Poly Pomona and hope to send the Broncos home with just their second loss of the season. Both games are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off following the women's games.

WEEKEND RECAP
The Pioneers got 2013 started on the right foot, beating Cal State LA 54-45 and securing a 1-1 record on their first trip south of the season. It wasn't a pretty game, but East Bay turned in one of their gustiest efforts of the season on the road against one of the nation's best defensive teams (The Golden Eagles lead the NCAA in opponents' field goal percentage and rank fourth in scoring defense). Jason Smith scored 21 points and Nick Marshall racked up 14 rebounds, four blocks, and four steals as the Pioneers grabbed their second road win of the season.

The following night, East Bay fell 69-54 at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Jurrell Turner led all scorers with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting and Gabe Kindred added 12, but the Toros had it going from long distance, besting the Pioneers 55.6 percent to 26.7 percent from behind the arc.

SUPERB SHOOTING
The Pioneers have now shot less than 40 percent from the field in four consecutive games, three of which were losses, and they rank last in the conference in shooting percentage. Part of this is due to a high shot volume because of the team's pace of play and strong offensive rebounding numbers. But when the Pioneers are knocking down shots, they're tough to beat. For the season, they're 4-0 in games in which they top 33.3 percent from three-point range.

One such game was Friday's win over Cal State LA, which featured one of the most impressive individual shooting performances in the program's history. Smith scored 21 points – his fourth career 20-point effort – on 7-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. The senior knocked down four triples and added four rebounds and three steals as he set the CSUEB single-game record for field goal percentage.

SENIOR FRONTCOURT
The Pioneers have gotten strong play from their two veteran big men so far this season. Turner has been the team's best offensive player, posting team highs in scoring (11.4 ppg) and field goal shooting (50.0 percent). Marshall, meanwhile, is averaging 7.3 ppg, but his real contribution has come on the defensive end, where he ranks fifth in the CCAA in rebounding (7.1 rpg) and third in blocks (1.4 bpg).

FRIENDLY CONFINES
The road-weary Pioneers are finally back for an extended homestand after opening the season with a slew of road games. The team began the season with eight of their first 10 games away from home, but they'll play eight of their next 10 here at Pioneer Gym, where they have yet to lose this season.

THE JACKS ARE BACK
Humboldt State is off to a rough start in conference play, currently sitting at 1-5 after dropping home games to Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego last weekend. They're the second-best shooting team in the CCAA, however, hitting at 47.3 percent for the season. Senior forward Alec Williams has been one of the conference's best players; he ranks third in scoring (16.6 ppg), fourth in rebounding (7.3 rpg), and has scored in double figures every game. Guard Austin Bryan is also averaging double figures in scoring after posting a team-high 33 points total in the two games last week. The Pioneers split with Humboldt State last year, defeating the Jacks 88-82 at home.

BRUSH UP ON THE BRONCOS
Cal Poly Pomona fell from No. 6 to No. 9 in the NCAA rankings this week after dropping their first game of the season to Cal State San Bernardino. Nonetheless, East Bay will have its hands full with one of the best teams in the nation on Saturday. The Broncos have the second-best scoring defense in the country, they lead the conference in steals, they're the second-best rebounding team in the CCAA, and they out-score their opponents by an average of 14.2 points a game. They don't shoot well from the free throw line or from outside, however, and they rank third-to-last conference in scoring offense. Nonetheless, the Broncos' top four scorers all shoot over 50 percent from the field. Senior Mitchel Anderson is having an outstanding year, leading the team in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (8.0 rpg), and assists (3.3 apg), and ranking top-10 in the conference in all three. Junior Terrence Drisdom is the reigning CCAA Player of the Week after shooting better than 60 percent with 36 total points and 12 rebounds in the two games. East Bay split with Cal Poly Pomona a year ago, and both games were decided by three points or less.