HAYWARD, Calif. -- Senior guard
Jacari Whitfield buried a pull-up floater in the lane with seven seconds remaining to lift the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team to a 55-53 win over visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday night.
The Pioneers (4-9, 2-5 CCAA) improve to 3-2 at home this season with the victory, which came in front of an impassioned crowd of nearly 500 at Pioneer Gymnasium.
Freshman
Patrick Marr led the team with 12 points thanks to some stellar outside shooting. The De La Salle product went 4-for-6 from behind the arc as he reached double figures for the third time in the last four games.
The action was low-scoring throughout the game as both teams struggled to find the shooting touch. East Bay ended up edging out the Toros 40 to 35 percent in team shooting percentage, and both squads were under 30 percent from long distance.
After Dominguez Hills grabbed an early 13-8 lead in the first half, the Pioneers answered back with a 10-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers by
Marcus Norman. However, the Toros quickly responded with three straight baskets to regain the advantage. Following an opening frame that saw six lead changes, the Pioneers went into halftime trailing 27-26.
Two minutes into the second half,
Cody Kale converted layups on back-to-back possessions to put CSUEB back up. After the Toros scored seven straight to take the lead right back, Marr swished a three from the top of the key to tie the score 39-39 with 13 minutes left.
No one scored for nearly three minutes of game time until Norman found Marr for another long ball to give the Pioneers the advantage. They never trailed after that, but the final 10 minutes were not without drama.
Sophomore
Kyle Frakes made a nice spin move and finished off the glass to give the Pioneers an eight-point lead with six minutes remaining, their largest of the night. Neither team made a field goal for the next five minutes, but the Toros carved away at the CSUEB advantage as Marr, Norman, and
Jack Pasquini all fouled out.
With East Bay leading by two, CSUDH's Josh Brown scored in transition to tie the game with 29 seconds left. Whitfield brought the ball back down the court and let the clock get under 10 seconds before driving into the paint. His 12-footer hit nothing but net as the Pioneer faithful erupted in celebration.
Dominguez Hills actually had a chance to tie after Brown drew a foul with two seconds left, but he missed both free throws, and the Pioneers secured the dramatic victory.
East Bay was whistled for 18 more fouls than their opponents on the night, and managed to hang on despite a 33-6 free throw advantage for the Toros.
"I have a ton of respect for Coach Becker and the way Dominguez competed on the road tonight," said head coach
Gus Argenal. "We battled through adversity as a group -- with multiple players fouling out, some different lineups had to step up. Our team fought all night and played with great heart, particularly our senior leader Jacari."
Whitfield finished with six points and three assists in a game-high 32 minutes. Kale reached double figures for the third time this season with 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
Pasquini was effective down low, notching nine points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Frakes added four points, and both big men recorded a pair of blocks.
Norman scored eight points on 3-for-6 from the field along with a season-high five rebounds. Junior
Juawnn Springfield also grabbed five boards, and he finished with six points, four of which came on crucial free throws to protect the East Bay lead in the final minutes.
CSUEB is back in action on Saturday night, Jan. 10, at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers will look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when they welcome in Cal State L.A. for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off following the women's game.
