CHICO, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team came up short on Saturday evening against No. 23 Seattle Pacific by a final score of 71-57 on the second day of the Mac Martin Invitational, hosted by Chico State.
The Pioneers drop to 2-3 for the season in non-conference action, with two of those losses coming to top-25 teams.
East Bay hung with the Falcons admirably, particularly in the second half when they were out-scored by just two points. The Pioneers were extremely active on the glass, racking up 18 offensive boards and allowing the talented SPU squad just a 36-35 rebounding advantage.
The Pioneers also committed just 13 turnovers in the game. Their downfall came primarily from lack of shooting. Seattle Pacific went on a big 15-0 run midway through the first half to grab control of the momentum. East Bay played them even the rest of the way, but they couldn't shoot their way back into it. The Pioneers made just one of 14 attempts from three-point range and finished the night at 34.4 percent from the field overall.
Senior
Alex Carmon paced the team with 15 points and four assists, both season highs. He also pulled in three rebounds and was one of six Pioneers to grab multiple boards on the offensive end.
Ryan Okwudibonye also reached double figures with 11 points, going 4-for-6 from the field. Junior
Pierre Carter couldn't hit from long range one night after going 4-for-4 against Simpson, but he nonetheless posted 10 points and four rebounds in a team-high 34 minutes.
Senior
Jack Pasquini tallied 10 rebounds and four points before fouling out. It's the first double-digit rebound performance of the season for Pasquini, who leads the team averaging 8.0 per game.
Junior
Jalen Richard scored six points on a tough shooting night, and freshman
Alex Manu added four points and four boards in his second straight start.
Next up, the Pioneers have a quick turnaround before launching into their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule this week. CSUEB visits Cal State San Bernardino at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1, before returning to Hayward for the conference home opener on Saturday.
