Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. -- For the third straight year, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team was victorious on the opening night of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. The Pioneers (3-3, 1-0 CCAA) defeated visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills by a score of 69-64 on Friday night in front of an outstanding crowd at Pioneer Gym. East Bay is now 2-0 at home to begin the 2013-14 season.

"Dominguez Hills is an outstanding program with a great coaching staff," said head coach Gus Argenal. "I was really impressed with the way our team defended for 40 minutes and competed to finish the game. This was a great team effort. We had major contributions from the bench, and our seniors and upperclassmen stepped up."

Gabe Kindred scored 18 points to lead a group of four Pioneers to score in double figures. The senior was 5-for-10 from the field, adding four rebounds and three steals. 

Fellow senior Mark Samuels played one of his best games of the season, notching 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He grabbed five boards and led the team with six assists in 35 minutes. 

Jacari Whitfield went 3-for-10 from three-point range, finishing with 11 points. Nick Grieves added 10 points and pulled in five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

The Pioneers got an impressive defensive effort from ther frontcourt against a CSUDH team that had a substantial size advantage. Darrick McIntosh scored four points and posted a team-high six rebounds. Ryan Hebebrand grabbed five boards, and Donovan Jackson was effective off the bench, finishing with seven points and three rebounds in 23 minutes.

The Toros out-shot East Bay for the game by a slight margin (41.1 to 40.0 percent). However, CSUDH was just 4-for-19 (.211) from three-point range and 12-for-25 from the free throw line (.480). 

The Pioneers were also out-rebounded in the game (42 to 35), but they forced 15 turnovers and committed just 11 themselves. 

The first half was tight throughout; the Pioneers led for nearly the entire frame, but never by more than five. They went into halftime with East Bay holding a slight 35-34 advantage.

East Bay caught a break when Givon Crump, the Toros' leading scorer, fouled out following a technical just over a minute into the second half. But the scoring continued to be back-and-forth as neither team managed to rattle off an extended run. 

The Pioneers finally stretched out their lead after Samuels converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and then Grieves knocked one down from long distance. That made the score 61-52 Pioneers with just under seven minutes left.

Dominguez Hills rallied, however, and even cut the deficit to one following a three-pointer with 28 seconds left. But East Bay handled the full-court press and made its free throws down the stretch to hang on the for the five-point victory.

The Pioneers are back in action Saturday night at home against Cal State L.A. The game will be broadcast live at pioneerwebtv.com at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.