Box Score SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team was outlasted on the road Saturday night by Cal State San Bernardino, the No. 14 team in the nation, by a score of 91-74. The Pioneers (6-8, 3-5 CCAA) trailed by just two at halftime, but the Coyotes (11-1, 8-0 CCAA) held CSUEB to 32.1 percent shooting in the second half to pull away for the victory. 

Four Pioneers scored in double figures in the loss, led by Mark Samuels with 20 points on 7-for-17 from the field and 3-for-4 on three-pointers. The senior also grabbed five rebounds and led the team with three steals.

Gabe Kindred (4-8 FG, 8-8 FT) added an efficient 18 points and a team-high six boards, but it wasn't quite enough to match East Bay's 82-72 upset win at CSUSB last season.

The Pioneers shot 38.1 percent as a team, compared to 49.2 percent for San Bernardino. They were a respectable 8-for-20 from long distance (40 percent) and an outstanding 19-for-20 from the free throw line (95 percent). However, the Coyotes got to the charity stripe more than twice as many times as the Pioneers (41 to 20), and they out-rebounded East Bay 44 to 35. 

"San Bernardino showed why they're a top ranked team int he country tonight," said head coach Gus Argenal. "They executed well in the second half, and that was the difference in the game. Our team played hard, but our execution on defense was not there."

Nick Grieves scored 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench. The CCAA's leader in three-point shooting was 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, giving Grieves at least one made three in each of his 14 career games at East Bay.

Freshman Kyle Frakes reached double figures in scoring for the second time in his young career with 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting, He finished with five rebounds and paced the squad with three blocked shots. 

Jacari Whitfield had a tough shooting night, totaling five points on 2-for-11 from the floor, but he had a team-best five assists. Ryan Hebebrand added four points and four rebounds, while Donavon Jackson grabbed four boards off the bench. 

The Pioneers managed to hang with the Coyotes for the entire first half, as they shot 43 percent as a team and made 5-of-11 three-pointers. East Bay led by as many as seven early on, and they never trailed by more than six before the break. A pair of free throws by Kindred made it 44-42 at halftime.

Unfortunately, the Pioneers never held a lead after that. San Bernardino opened the seocnd half on a 23-7 run that extended their advantage to 18 and essentially put the game out of reach midway through the frame. The Coyotes racheted up their defensive pressure and did a more effective job utilizing their size advantage and getting to the free throw line as they out-scored East Bay 47-32 after the break.

Six CSUSB players scored in double figures, led by Jordan Burriss with 18. Conference Player of the Year candidate Lacy Haddock notched 12 points and nine assists. 

Cal State East Bay is back in action next week with another pair of road games. The Pioneers visit Chico State on Jan. 17 followed by Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 18.