HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team fell to visiting Cal State San Bernardino on Friday night by a final score of 78-65. The Pioneers (6-19, 4-15 CCAA) and Coyotes (12-10, 12-7 CCAA) were tied at halftime, but the defending California Collegiate Athletic Association champions pulled away down the stretch.

East Bay had one of its best shooting nights of the season, finishing at 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range. But the home team was out-rebounded 30 to 24, and they committed 15 turnovers that led to 24 points for San Bernardino. 

"Tonight we battled and fought against a team that's playing very good basketball," said head coach Gus Argenal. "Coach Oliver's team is extremely talented and executed well tonight. Our offense was not our issue in this game; instead it was our inability to get consecutive defensive stops."

The lead changed eight times over the course of the game, and the Pioneers traded blows throughout the first half with an athletic Coyote squad. Over the first 20 minutes, East Bay shot an impressive 58 percent from long range. They were also solid at the foul line for the game (82 percent), but only managed to get there 11 times. 

Senior Jacari Whitfield paced the Pioneers with 16 points and eight assists, while playing all 40 minutes in the penultimate home game of his four-year career. He went 5-for-9 from long distance, extending his school record to 188 career triples. 

Whitfield passed the 100 assist mark for the season, and he moved into second place in school history with 336 for his career. The San Francisco native also became the ninth Pioneer ever to score 900 career points tonight. Since CSUEB re-joined Division II and became a member of the CCAA in 2009-10, only assistant coach Mark Samuels has scored more points than Whitfield. 

Sophomore Paramvir Singh had a standout performance in the loss, scoring a career-high 13 points in 21 minutes off the bench. The Hayward product went 4-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-3 from deep, to go along with four rebounds. His previous career high of 11 points also came against San Bernardino, back on Jan. 17.

Senior Cody Kale reached double figures for the fifth time in his last eight games, notching 13 points and four boards in 22 minutes on 5-for-7 shooting. Freshman Patrick Marr knocked down a couple of threes and scored 10 points before sustaining an injury midway through the second half.

Senior Nick Grieves added nine points, all of which came from beyond the arc. Sophomore Kyle Frakes turned in four points and four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

"We have to hang our hats on defense and rebounding to be successful," Argenal said. "I believe we will bounce back for our seniors tomorrow night."

The Pioneers will likely be down to seven healthy players for their final home game of the 2014-15 season on Saturday night against Humboldt State. The contest will be preceded by a brief ceremony to honor the five East Bay seniors: Whitfield, Grieves, Kale, Darrick McIntosh, and Jarred Jourdan. Live video will be available at PioneerWebTV.com.