HAYWARD, Calif. — The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team hits the road for the final time this season to square off with a pair of teams fighting for playoff positioning. The Pioneers (5-17, 4-14 CCAA) visit UC San Diego on Friday and will look to rekindle last year's magic, when they went into La Jolla and beat the Tritons 80-79 in overtime. On Saturday, East Bay will drive up the 215 to take on second-place Cal State San Bernardino, with both tip-offs set for 7:30 p.m.

WEEKLY RECAP
The Pioneers started their north-south road trip last week by visiting No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona on Valentine's Day. The Pioneers out-played the Broncos in the second half, but it wasn't enough, as they were out-shot 47.1 percent to 39.3 percent in the game. Vincent Capellino led East Bay with 10 points and eight rebounds in a 71-56 loss that extended the Broncos' winning streak to 10.

Two nights later, the Pioneers were up in Arcata for a tough matchup with Humboldt State. The Pioneers shot 50 percent in the second half and 41 percent for the game. They led by as many as 11 in the second half, but the Jacks made a late 20-2 run to secure the 77-69 victory. Capellino and fellow senior Jurrell Turner had 12 points to lead the Pioneers, and Jacari Whitfield added 10.

LATE BLOOMER
Capellino was the team's leading scorer over the weekend, averaging 11.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 61.1 percent from the floor (11-for-18). The South Lake Tahoe native has really come on late in the season for the Pioneers as a scoring threat. After reaching double figures one time in his first 16 games this season, Capellino has done it in four of his last six games.

The senior has started five straight games, and in the month of February, he's the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 28.5 minutes and shooting 45.5 percent from the field. After averaging 3.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, and 11.5 minutes as a junior, Capellino has improved all his numbers in the final season. He's posting 6.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and averaging 18.7 minutes.

DISHING IT OUT
Whitfield leads the Pioneers with 56 assists on the season after posting nine over the weekend. His six assists against Humboldt State matched his season high, which he set against this Saturday's opponent, Cal State San Bernardino. In fact, Whitfield's highest weekend assist total of the season (10) came in the home series against the Coyotes and Tritons. The sophomore guard also leads the Pioneers in minutes and free throw percentage in 2013.

RETURN TO FORM
Senior Jurrell Turner was East Bay's most consistent and efficient scorer for the first half of the season, but recently he was bitten by the injury bug. Turner missed two games at the beginning on the month, and in his first three games back, he averaged just 11.0 minutes and 3.0 ppg. The Hayward native seemed to be closer to full health against Humboldt State, however, playing 25 minutes for the first time in eight games. Turner was 5-for-6 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, and tied for the team lead with 12 points.

TRACKING THE TRITONS
Seventh-place UC San Diego has lost three games in a row and is still clinging to a postseason tournament spot by one game. It'll be a matchup of the two lowest-scoring teams in the CCAA when the Pioneers and Tritons meet. UCSD forces the fewest turnovers in the conference, but they shoot an impressive 77.9 percent from the free throw line, which leads the CCAA and ranks sixth in the nation. Senior guard Tyler McGrath leads the Tritons offensively. He's the fourth-leading scorer in the conference at 15.3 ppg thanks in part to an 87.4 free throw percentage, which ranks second in the CCAA. Junior point guard James McCann also scores in double figures (12.8 ppg) and is tied for the conference lead with 4.1 assists per game. UCSD shot 49.1 percent and defeated the Pioneers 69-60 when the teams last met in January.

SCOUTING SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes are trying to hang onto the #2 seed in the CCAA tournament in the final two weeks. They've lost three of their last four, however, and got swept on the road last weekend by Chico State and CSU Stanislaus. San Bernardino is the highest scoring team in the conference at 74.5 ppg. They're not a good rebounding team, but they shoot extremely well from outside, ranking ninth in the nation in three-point percentage (41.0 percent). The Coyotes have two of the CCAA's top three scorers in junior Brian Goins (15.5 ppg) and senior Kwame Alexander (15.4 ppg). Alexander, a strong candidate for CCAA Player of the Year, also leads the conference in rebounding at 9.1 rpg. Point guard Lacy Haddock also scores in double figures (10.7 ppg) and is tied for the CCAA lead in assists at 4.1 apg. When the teams met last month, San Bernardino got to the line 30 times, shot 51.1 percent from the floor, and left Pioneer Gym with a 71-59 win over East Bay. The Pioneers have never won in Coussoulis Arena.