HAYWARD, Calif – The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team suffered a 107-81 setback against Western Washington on Saturday night to conclude the 2016 Pioneer Challenge.
 
The Pioneers begin the season 1-1 for the third straight season under fourth year head coach Gus Argenal.
 
East Bay had four players score in double figures
 
Sophomore newcomer Juwan Anderson paced East Bay with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting from them field and four rebounds. Anderson added four assists and three steals, both team highs, while going a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
 
Freshman Druce Asah matched the team lead with 15 points. Asah tallied four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 24 minutes of action. He sank three three-pointers for Pioneers.
 
Jalen Richard, the returning leading scorer from last season, finished with his first double figure scoring game of the season with 12 points. Richard compiled three rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes on the court.
 
Junior Kyle Frakes totaled 10 points, four rebounds and a steal. Frakes went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
Micah Dunhour completed the game with eight points and a team best five rebounds.
 
Drew Bender, Pierre Carter and Jelani Mitchell each chipped in five points apiece for the Pioneers.
 
The Vikings (2-0) outscored the Pioneers in points in the paint 40-24, points off turnovers 22-11, fast break points 11-0, second chance points 7-4 and bench points 32-21.
 
The Pioneers shot 41.8 percent from the floor and 44.8 percent from long distance, while Western Washington finished with a 63.8 shooting accuracy and 50 percent shooting from three-point land as they outscored East Bay in both halves.
 
East Bay head coach Gus Argenal felt it was his team's defense that made the difference in tonight's game.
 
"We have to come out with more desire and intensity in the first half," said Argenal. "We can't come out sluggish against a good team like this if we want to come away with a victory. We have to step up our defensive pressure get more stops if we want to be successful. But hat's off to Western Washington, they played a great game tonight."
 
Jeffery Parker led the Vikings with 32 points and five rebounds. Taylor Stafford added 18 points and eight assists for Western Washington.

East Bay will return home for their final home game of November when they face off against Fresno Pacific on Wednesday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Pioneer Gymnasium.