CHICO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team cruised to an 86-48 win over Simpson University on Friday evening in the first game of the Mac Martin Invitational, hosted by Chico State. 

The Pioneers dominated both sides of the ball to improve their record to 2-2 in non-conference play. They shot a season-high 49.2 percent from the field and doubled up Simpson with a 42-to-20 rebounding advantage.

"I was really pleased with our team's defensive effort in the first half and focus on rebounding," said head coach Gus Argenal. "We didn't have the same urgency in the second half, but continued to play hard and stuck to our game plan. I liked that we took better care of the ball and had a season high in assists."

East Bay led wire-to-wire, grabbing an early lead with some hot shooting and holding the Redhawks to just 17 first-half points. Jalen Richard and Pierre Carter each scored 10 in the opening frame, combining to knock down five three-pointers.

Senior Ryan Okwudibonye took over in the second half as the Pioneers stretched their lead into the 30s. He scored 13 of his game-high 21 points after halftime, finishing 8-for-12 from the floor. The Huntington Beach native was perfect from the free throw line (5-for-5) and also pulled in six rebounds.

Okwudibonye was one of three Pioneers to reach double figures in scoring. Carter finished with 13 in just 19 minutes off the bench, going 4-for-4 from long distance. Richard went 4-for-6 from the field, notching 12 points along with five rebounds and three assists.

The Pioneers grabbed 15 offensive rebounds in the game, leading to 17 second-chance points that allowed them to go on big runs. Senior Jack Pasquini paced the team with eight boards to go along with six points. Alex Carmon was second on the squad with seven rebounds, filling up the scoresheet with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and four assists.

Redshirt freshman Alex Manu also dished out four assists and added five points in his first career start. Tre Mauldin, Marquise Tolson, and Marcus Norman finished with eight, six, and five points, respectively, combining to go 4-for-7 from three-point range. Junior Paramvir Singh couldn't find the bottom of the net, but grabbed six rebounds and turned in three assists in 15 minutes. 

"We have a huge challenge ahead of us tomorrow in SPU," Argenal said. 

On Saturday, Nov. 28, East Bay plays its second game of the Mac Martin Invitational at 5:30 p.m. against Seattle Pacific, currently ranked No. 23 in the nation.