HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team concludes its difficult four-game conference road trip this weekend. The Pioneers (6-8, 3-5 CCAA) first visit No. 25 Chico State on Friday night, and then they travel to take on Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday night. East Bay will be looking for its first road victory of CCAA play against squads that are both coming off weekend sweeps of Cal State L.A. and Dominguez Hills.
WEEKLY RECAP
Last weekend, the Pioneers embarked on their first true road trip of conference play, traveling to Southern California to battle UC San Diego and No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino. On Friday night, East Bay played a tight game with the Tritons and held a lead much of the way. UCSD used a late rally to overtake the Pioneers in the final minutes, however, finishing off the game with an 80-70 victory.
Gabe Kindred had 16 points (6-9 FG) in that game, and
Ryan Hebebrand notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but the Pioneers were just 7-for-24 on three-pointers.
The following evening, the red-hot Coyotes cruised to their 11th consecutive victory, 91-74, over East Bay. The Pioneers kept it tight in the first half and trailed by just two at the break, but they weren't able to make up for a .381 team shooting percentage. Four Pioneers scored in double figures, led by
Mark Samuels with 20, but CSUSB got six of its players into double digits.
WHERE DO WE STAND
It doesn't get much easier for the Pioneers this weekend against two teams playing extremely well, but East Bay will be looking for a big win to keep them in the thick of the CCAA race. In a year in which the conference will invite the top six teams to the postseason tournament, the Pioneers are currently tied for 7th place at 3-5. Both the Wildcats and Warriors are ahead of them, which highlights the importance of this week's contests.
PIONEER POINTS
As a team, CSUEB ranks third in the CCAA in scoring (77.4 ppg), second in three-point shooting (.374) and second in foul shooting (.734). However, they're last in rebounding margin (minus-4.9 per game).
Kindred is the fourth-leading scorer in the conference at 18.9 points per game, which is also the highest scoring average an East Bay player has had since the Pioneers joined the CCAA in 2009. The senior has made and attempted more free throws than anyone in the conference (by a lot), and he ranks second in steals (20) and three-point shooting (.483).
Samuels is the team's second-leading scorer, and his average of 15.8 points per game in conference play is top-10 in the league. The senior guard is also fourth in the CCAA in total assists as he continues to climb the Pioneer record books. He's ninth in school history in rebounds, sixth all-time in assists, and third among all Pioneers in scoring with 1,224 career points.
Despite a relatively quiet performance over the weekend (3-for-7 in two games),
Nick Grieves is still the best outside shooter in the CCAA. He ranks second in made three's (33) and first in percentage (.493), and he's knocked down at least one triple in every game this season.
Ryan Hebebrand grabbed 14 total boards last weekend and continues to rank fourth in the CCAA at 7.5 rebounds per game in league play. He's had two double-doubles in the last five games.
WATCHING THE WILDCATS
Chico State has won nine of their last 10 games, with their only two losses of the season coming by a combined five points. They rank second in scoring offense and second in scoring defense in CCAA play, beating teams by nearly 14 points per game. Four Wildcats average better than 11 points per game: Sean Park (14.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 50.8% FG), Rashad Parker (14.1 ppg, 3.2 apg), Jordan Semple (11.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg 60% FG), and Amir Carrawy (11.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 51.1% FG). The Pioneers are 1-7 against Chico State since 2009.
SCOUTING STANISLAUS
The Warriors also enter the weekend playing well, having won four of their last five. They're an efficient scoring teams as they lead the CCAA in field goal percentage (.498), assists, and steals, and they rank third in scoring defense. Stanislaus is led by Player of the Year candidate Marcus Bell (18.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 64.1% FG), who leads the conference in rebounding and field goal percentage. The Pioneers are looking for their first win over the Warriors in nine tries since joining the CCAA.
