HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team will play its first home games in nearly a month this weekend as they return to their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule. The Pioneers host a pair of Southern California schools, taking on Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday night and Cal State L.A. on Saturday.
Both contests are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the women's games, and both will have live video broadcasts at
PioneerWebTV.com. Friday's game is "New Year's Resolution Night" at Pioneer Gym, featuring fitness-related contests and giveaways for fans in attendance.
WEEKLY RECAPEast Bay began the new year on the road last weekend, dropping games to two of the top teams in the conference. Last Friday, they fell 70-57 at San Francisco State despite 15 points from senior
Nick Grieves on 5-for-7 from three-point range. The following night, they were bested 71-51 by first-place Sonoma State, as the Seawolves out-shot the Pioneers 53 to 32 percent from the field. Â
PIONEER POINTSJunior
Jack Pasquini led the way with 16 points and nine rebounds at SSU, and he was named CSUEB's Male Athlete of the Week after averaging 15 points and 8.5 rebounds last weekend. Pasquini continues to lead the CCAA in rebounding with an average of 8.8 per game, and he has at least eight boards in six consecutive games. The Scotts Valley native is also second on the squad in scoring (9.2 ppg) after reaching double figures for the fourth and fifth times this season.
Senior
Jacari Whitfield became CSUEB's all-time leader in career three-pointers in the team's overtime loss to Menlo earlier this season. He struggled a bit last week, going 5-for-17 in the two games, but nonetheless added to his program record total, which now sits at 157. The San Francisco native leads the team shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc this season, and he's fifth in the league with 22 made triples.Â
After 11 assists last weekend, Whitfield is also tied for second among CCAA players with 45 assists so far this season. He has now dished out 276 career assists, which moves him into sixth on the program's all-time list, and puts him 11 short of fifth place.
Whitfield also ranks second in school history with a free throw percentage of .839 (99-for-118). This season, he's 14-for-17 at the line (.824). That number is second-best on the team, trailing senior
Jarred Jourdan, who ranks third in the conference at 88.9 percent (24-for-27).
As a team, the Pioneers lead the league in rebounds per game during CCAA play, Â and they rank seventh out of 12 teams in points per game (63.8).Â
Current CCAA StandingsCCAA Statistical LeadersTRACKING THE TOROSCal State Dominguez Hills enters the weekend as the only winless team in the CCAA. The Toros shoot 44 percent as a team, and they're being outscored by their opponents by nearly eight points per game. Their top players are Ivan Dooley (14.2 ppg, 48% FG), Darnell Martin (10.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg), and Justin Sadler (9.1 ppg, 62% FG, 5.5 rpg). Cal State East Bay is 1-9 against the Toros since joining the CCAA in 2009-10, with their lone win coming last season in Hayward.Â
SCOUTING CAL STATE L.A.The Golden Eagles dropped both of their games last weekend at Cal State San Bernardino and Humboldt State, and their two CCAA victories are both against Cal State Dominguez Hills. CSULA is shooting 45.1 percent as a team and averaging 61.3 points per game, and they've committed the most turnovers in the league. They have 10 players averaging between 4.0 and 9.0 points per game, led by Joshua Munzon (8.8 ppg), David Hall (8.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Labradford Franklin (8.0 ppg, 4.0 apg), and Joel Brokenbrough (7.1 ppg, 63% FG, 4.5 rpg). The Pioneers are 1-9 against the Golden Eagles as members of the CCAA, and they've never beaten Cal State L.A. in Pioneer Gym.
