HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team dropped a 76-65 decision at the hands of visiting UC San Diego on Saturday night. The Pioneers (2-5, 0-2 CCAA) are still looking for their first win in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

East Bay out-rebounded the Tritons (4-2, 2-1 CCAA) for the game, 37 to 30, but the visitors had a substantial edge in field goal percentage. UCSD hit at 52.1 percent, compared to just 36.7 percent for the Pioneers. For the second night in a row, the home team struggled from long distance, making three of 13 attempts from beyond the arc.

"I asked our team to have a response from last night with their passion and effort," said head coach Gus Argenal. "We played hard and competed all night, but UCSD matched out intensity and made more plays in the second half than we did."

It was a back-and-forth affair in the first half. After East Bay opened the game on a 7-1 run, the Tritons quickly rallied to grab a lead. The visitors were up by as many as eight in the opening frame at 30-22, but the Pioneers answered with six straight points of their own. Desipite being out-shot 56 percent to 40 percent in the half by UCSD, East Bay went into the break trailing by just one at 37-36.

The Pioneers had a strong performance at the free throw line on the night (18-for-24), but they weren't able to keep it a one-possession game for long in the second half. With the score 39-39 coming out of halftime, the Tritons went on a 12-1 run and never looked back from there. East Bay turned the ball over nine times went 8-for-25 from the field in the second half as they attempted to come back, by the rally attempts fell short.

"I am proud of the team that we are becoming and the leadership we showed on the floor," Argenal added. "We are close. Despite losing our leading scorer heading into the weekend, we scrapped and clawed as a group, and I'm proud of the guys."

Juawnn Springfield led the way with 14 points for the Pioneers. He went 6-for-7 at the free throw line and grabbed five offensive rebounds in the losing effort. Jarred Jourdan also reached double figures in scoring with 13 points, which is a season high for the senior.

Jacari Whitfield scored eight points, including 2-for-3 on three pointers, to go along with a team-best five assists. Patrick Marr notched eight points and pulled in five rebounds. Cody Kale also scored eight points, making his first start of the 2014-15 season. 

Jack Pasquini led all players with 10 boards in the game, four of which came on the offensive end. Nick Grieves scored six points, and Kyle Frakes added four. Two of those came on a thunderous putback dunk late in the first half, which ignited the crowd and was the high point of the night for East Bay as it tied the score 34-34.

The Pioneers have just one game next week as they approach final exams. The team hosts Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, Dec. 13, with tip-off slated at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.