HAYWARD, Calif. -- After opening up the regular season with a 64-50 win at home against Montana State Billings, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team hits the road to face Cal Baptist, ranked No. 11 in the nation, on Thursday folowed by Point Loma Nazarene on Saturday.

In their opener, the Pioneers used a big second half, outscoring Montana State Billings 42-26 to pull away down the stretch and secure their first win. They held the Yellowjackeets under 30 percent shooting, while junior Jalen Richard scored 13 points to lead the team.

Redshirt freshman Alex Manu and senior Ryan Okwudibonye both scored in double-figures as well. Manu notched 12 points off the bench, while Okwudibonye had 11 to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Jack Pasquini pulled in seven boards, and sophomore Patrick Marr added eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.

The CBU Lancers have backed up their lofty national ranking with a 5-0 start to their season. They have victories over No. 9 Minnesota State-Moorehead as well as CCAA teams Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. They also defeated Division 1 Northern Arizona, 89-70, in an exhibition game in Flagstaff, Ariz. 

Junior Michael Smith, a native South San Francisco, leads the Lancers with 20.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

The Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions opened up their regular season last weekend at the PAC West/GNAC Conference Challenge in Lacey, Wash. On Friday, they lost to Western Oregon 82-76 befoe coming back to defeat Saint Martin's 74-59 the following day. 

Senior Sam Okhotin leads PLNU in scoring at 19.5 points per game, and senior Judd Welfringer paced the team with 7.5 rebounds per game.

After their SoCal trip, the Pioneers continue their extremely tough road schedule after Thanksgiving when they compete in the Mac Martin Invitational at Chico State next weekend. East Bay will play Simpson University on Nov. 27 before taking on another one of the top teams in the West in Seattle Pacific on Nov. 28.