HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team opens California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play this weekend with a pair of games at Pioneer Gym. After posting a 2-3 record in their non-conference schedule, East Bay welcomes in Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday night and Cal State L.A on Saturday night. Both games are set to tip off at 7:30 following the women's games, and both will be broadcast live at
PioneerWebTV.com.
WEEKLY RECAP
The Pioneers had just one game last week prior to Thanksgiving weekend, their home opener against William Jessup University. East Bay turned in a strong team performance and picked up its second victory of the season, 83-72. The team shot 48.4 percent from the floor, knocked down 12 three-pointers, and out-rebounded the Warriors 33-29 with 14 offensive boards.
CSUEB erased a seven-point first-half deficit and controlled the game for most of the second half, scoring 21 points off turnovers. Five Pioneers scored in double figures in the victory, led by
Gabe Kindred and
Nick Grieves with 17 points each.
Jacari Whitfield notched 16 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
PLAYER NOTES
Kindred has scored in double figures in every game and ranks sixth in the conference with 18.2 points per game. The senior has made the second-most free throws in the CCAA and is also the Pioneers' leading rebounder at 5.4 per game.
Whitfield has made the second-most threes in the conference (19) and is knocking them down at a 45.2 percent clip. He's second on the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game and ranks third in the CCAA with an assist/turnover ratio of 5.0-to-1.
Grieves was 5-for-10 from beyond the arc in his home debut against William Jessup. The junior transfer from Aptos is now averaging 10.2 points per game and ranks third in the CCAA in both three-pointers made (13) and three-point percentge (.565).
The big men for the Pioneers have been coming on strong. Senior
Ryan Hebebrand reached double figures for the first time with season with 11 points against WJU. Freshman center
Kyle Frakes notched 10 points against Dominican two weeks ago and is shooting 64.3 percent from the floor coming off the bench.
Senior
Mark Samuels is third on the team at 12.8 points per game and ranks fourth in the conference in assists (22). For his career, the Berkeley native ranks fourth in school history with 1,082 points, sixth with 237 assists, and ninth with 323 rebounds.
TRACKING THE TOROS
Cal State Dominguez Hills went 2-3 in non-conference play, then fell 76-66 to Cal State L.A. in the CCAA opener. They're a good rebounding team, and they take a lot of three-pointers (though not as many as East Bay). Given Crump is the Toros' best player, averaging 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game so far. The Toros went 12-10 in conference play last year and finished in sixth place. The Pioneers are 0-8 against Dominguez Hills since joining the CCAA in 2009.
GAUGING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Cal State L.A. picked up its first CCAA win over the Toros on Saturday, and they enter the season as one of the favorites in the conference. In 2012-13, they went 13-9, good for fourth place. They also finished as one of the top defensive teams in the nation, allowing 57.4 points per game. This year, the team is led by Quinton Watkins (21.0 ppg) and James Tillman (14.8 ppg), both of whom are shooting over 50 percent. East Bay is 1-7 against the Golden Eagles since 2009, with the only win coming last year on the road.
