BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-- Cal State East Bay opened their 2015-16 men's basketball campaign with a 99-59 exhibition loss at Division I opponent UAB on Friday night at Bartow Arena.
The Pioneers held an early lead at 8-4 after junior newcomer
Pierre Carter sunk a free throw to complete a three-point play with 15:05 in the first half, but the Blazers went on 6-0 run after that to take the lead. UAB utilized its size advantage and continued to add on, carrying a 46-24 lead into halftime.
The Pioneers weren't able to cut into the lead in the second half as the Blazers made a couple of late scoring runs to pull away. But the Pioneers hung tough and gained valuable experience against a squad that won the Conference USA Tournament Championship last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a victory over No. 9 Iowa State
"UAB is a high level team that has a chance to make a repeat apperance in the NCAA Tournament," said head coach Gus Aregnal. "They are well-coached by Jerod Haase and play hard every possession. I liked our team in spurts, but we need a consistent defensive mindset."
Carter led the Pioneers in scoring with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench.
Ryan Okwudibonye put up 10 points in 24 minutes, highlighted by a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line, in his first action since missing most of last season with an injury.
Redshirt freshman
Jordan Balser had eight points in 14 minutes, knocking down a pair of three-pointers. Seniors
Alex Carmon and
Jack Pasquini both started for East Bay and added seven points each. Okwudibonye and junior transfer
Jalen Richard each posted six rebounds to lead the team.
UAB shot 57.4 percent from the field, led by Lewis Sullivan, Dirk Williams, and Chris Cokley with 16 points each. The Pioneers, meanwhile, shot 30.2 percent for the game and went just 4-for-25 from long distance. The were solid at the free throw line, however, making 73.9 percent of their foul shots.
Argenal added,"
We play exhibitions to improve, and we will learn a lot from our play tonight."Cal State East Bay concludes its road trip to the South on Saturday with another exhibition at Tennessee State in Nashville. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.
