HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team shot 57 percent from the field on Tuesday night en route to an 81-70 road victory over Cal State San Bernardino in the opener of the Pioneers' California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule.

CSUEB evens its overall record at 3-3 with an impressive performance against the Coyotes, a perennial power in the CCAA.

"I have the utmost respect for Coach Oliver and the winning tradition of the San Bernardino program," said head coach Gus Argenal. "I was really proud of the way we rebounded and defended for the entire game. We had seniors step up tonight, particularly Jack Pasquini and Ryan Okwudibonye."

The game was tight in the early going as the teams traded baskets. Then, with 6:41 left in the first half, sophomore Patrick Marr knocked down his second three-pointer of the night to put the Pioneers up 23-22. That sparked an 11-0 run for East Bay, and they never trailed the rest of the way.

San Bernardino cut its deficit to seven points midway through the second half, but the Pioneers managed to keep momentum on their side. Pasquini buried three long balls in a row and scored 13 straight points down the stretch for East Bay as they pulled away in the final minutes.

It was a career night for Pasquini, who led all players with 23 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 17 of those in the second half and finished the game 8-for-11 from the field.

Okwudibonye was equally efficient, netting 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. 18 of his points came after the break, and he helped the Pioneers finish with a 40-to-32 advantage on points in the paint.

As a team, East Bay was red hot throughout the night, going 29-for-51 from the field. They shot 41.7 percent from long distance and went 16-for-19 at the free throw line. Defensively, the held the Coyotes to 44 percent shooting and secured a 32 to 23 rebounding advantage.

The Pioneers had a total of four players in double figures as junior Jalen Richard and senior Alex Carmon both scored 11 points. Richard was 4-for-7 from the field and dished out five assists. Carmon was an efficient 3-for-5 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 at the stripe. 

Junior Pierre Carter led the squad with six assists and played a team-high 34 minutes. Marr tallied seven points off the bench, and senior Tre Mauldin added five.

"I was extremely impressed with the way we stuck together on the road," Argenal said. "Any road win in the CCAA is a great win."

Next up, the Pioneers return to Hayward to host their CCAA home opener on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. They have a tough opponent in front of them in defending CCAA champion Chico State, currently ranked No. 23 in the nation.