HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team dropped its final home game of the 2014-15 season on Saturday night, losing 81-57 to a Humboldt State squad that has now won eight of its last nine.

The game was preceded by the annual "Senior Night" ceremony to honor the five East Bay seniors who were competing in Pioneer Gym for the last time -- Nick Grieves, Jarred Jourdan, Cody Kale, Darrick McIntosh, and Jacari Whitfield.

"I want to thank our seniors for their effort and dedication to the program," said head coach Gus Argenal after the game. "Hats off to Humboldt State. They came in and were ready to compete from the tip. We battled hard in the first half, but their depth and execution hurt us down the stretch. They're as hot as any team in the league right now."

It was a particularly memorable Senior Night for Kale, a former Jack, who set a career high with 19 points against his old team. Kale played all 40 minutes and went 7-for-12 from the field, pulling in five rebounds and dishing out three assists. 

Whitfield also reached double figures in his final home contest, notching 11 points and a game-high seven assists. It was his ninth straight game scoring at least 10 points. With two games left in the season, Whitfield needs eight more assists to become CSUEB's career record holder.

The Pioneers hung with Humboldt State throughout the first half thanks to a 50 percent team shooting percentage over the first 20 minutes. After trading the lead back and forth a couple times, the Jacks went on a run to go up by 13 points. But East Bay answered back, scoring eight straight points to close out the half, capped off by a buzzer-beating three from Paramvir Singh. The home team trailed by just five at the break, 35-30.

Humboldt pulled away in the second half by shooting 53 percent as a team and getting the under-manned East Bay squad into foul trouble. For the second straight night, the injury-riddled Pioneers finished the game with just six players. The Jacks, who entered the night as the highest-scoring team in the CCAA, had five players score in double figures in this contest.

East Bay was out-rebounded 37 to 27, and they were hurt by 17 turnovers that led to 24 HSU points.

Singh finished with nine points and four rebounds, making his fourth start in the last six games. Freshman Patrick Marr bounced back from a hard collision on Friday night to score eight points and grab five rebounds off the bench.

Sophomore Kyle Frakes added four points and led the team with seven boards and two blocks in 19 minutes before fouling out. 

Grieves notched four points and two steals, while McIntosh contributed two points, two rebounds, and a block on Senior Night.

The 2014-15 regular season concludes on the road next weekend as the Pioneers travel up Highway 99 to visit Cal State Stanislaus on Friday, Feb. 27, followed by first-place Chico State on Saturday, Feb. 28.