HAYWARD, Calif.-- Cal State East Bay will look to close out their 2015-16 campaign with a win when they host Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday at Pioneer Gymnasium. The Pioneers are 5-14 in the CCAA and 9-17 overall. The Otters are 11-8 in the conference and 13-12 overall. They have already locked down a spot in the CCAA Championship Tournament beginning next week.

The Pioneers are coming off a 1-1 week that saw them defeat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 81-76, Friday and lose to Cal State L.A., 69-56, Saturday.

In the win against the Toros, the Pioneers were trailing most of the first half when Jack Pasquini nailed a three pointer to give the team a 35-34 lead. They would go to the locker room up 37-34. The Pioneers grabbed the lead in the first half and despite the game being close the entire second half they never relinquished the lead and won by five.

Jalen Richard played all 40 minutes against the Toros and scored a team-high 23 points. Ryan Okwudibonye earned his second double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and matching his career-high of 13 rebounds.

Jack Pasquini scored 19 points on 7-14 shooting with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Alex Carmon had a solid game scoring eight points on 3-6 from the field. Carmon also dished-out five assists and had four rebounds.

Against Cal State L.A. Saturday, the Pioneers couldn't keep up with the hot-shooting Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles shot 53.1% (26-49) compared with 24.5% (13-53) in the 13 point loss.

Patrick Marr scored a season-high 16 points on 4-7 shooting with five rebounds. Richard had 13 points, three assists, and two steals. Richard's is averaging 16.0 points per game, which is good for fifth overall in the CCAA conference.

Carmon scored six points, grabbed six rebounds, and distributed three assists. Okwudibonye had a team-high seven rebounds.

The Pioneers were defeated by the Otters, 81-69, when the team met on Jan. 26 in Seaside. The Pioneers and Otters fought to a 33-33 tie after the first half, but East Bay fell behind by as many as 15 in the second half before losing by a dozen.

Pasquini had a double-double, scoring 19 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Carmon and Jordan Balser also scored in double-figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Ryan Fitz averages 19.5 points a game to lead the Otters and the CCAA. Nitz is also the team's leading rebounder with 6.5 per game.

2015-16 SENIORS
Saturday's game will mark the final home game for the four seniors on the 2015-16 Pioneers. The game against CSUMB will be preceded by a brief ceremony to celebrate their outstanding careers.

A native of Vallelo, Calif., Robert Garrett joined the Pioneers for his senior season after competing for three years at Santa Clara University. Garrett played 89 games at the Division I level before coming to East Bay and ranks seventh on Santa Clara's all-time blocks list with 81. After bouncing back from an injury in the fall, the seven-footer has been a tremendous asset in the interior for the Pioneers. He has played in every game, averaging 11 minutes and presenting matchup problems for op[posing big men all season. Robert ranks ninth in the CCAA with 25 blocks in 26 contests, and he had a season high with four against Cal State San Marcos on Jan. 7.

Alex Carmon also had a decorated collegiate playing career before coming to Cal State East Bay for his senior season. An All-League player and CIF Champion at Long Beach Poly High School, Carmon went to Academy of Art for three years. After utilizing a redshirt in 2011-12, he was the PacWest Freshman of the Year the following season, averaging 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. As a sophomore, he ranked in the top 10 in the PacWest in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg), while setting a school record with 116 made free throws. After just two seasons, he left Academy of Academy of Art as the third-leading scorer in program history with 809 career points. Carmon had to sit out the 2014-15 season when he transferred to East Bay, but he has made the most of his senior season. He ranks third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and rebounds (4.0 rpg), and he leads the Pioneers in assists (2.1 apg). He has posted double figures in scoring 13 times for CSUEB, and earlier this year he surpassed 1,000 career points, which took him less than three seasons to accomplish. 

Ryan Okwudibonye won a CIF Southern Section championship at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., then enjoyed a standout two-year career at New Mexico Junior College. Ryan transferred to Division I  Sacramento State for his junior year and helped the Hornets make their first-ever postseason appearance in 2013-14. Ryan came to East Bay last season but had to use a redshirt after sustaining an injury at the beginning of the year. The 6'8" forward has been healthy for his senior year, however, making a huge impact on the Pioneer front court. He has played in all 26 games this season and ranks second among all CCAA players shooting 54.1 percent from the field. He's second on the Pioneers in scoring (11.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg), setting single-game career highs this season with 26 points and 13 boards. 

Finally, Bay Area product Jack Pasquini wraps up a two-year career as one of the most effective rebounders CSUEB has seen. A two-sport star at Scotts Valley High School, Jack went to De Anza College to begin his collegiate career. He was one of the top rebounders in the state of California for De Anza, nearly averaging a double-double and earning First Team All-Conference honors. Last season, Pasquini averaged 9.3 points per game and was the second-leading rebounder in the CCAA (8.8 rpg) before an injury cut his first season at East Bay short. As a senior, he has started every game while averaging 8.7 points per contest. He leads the team and rank in the top 10 in the CCAA in rebounding (6.2 per game), and he has improved his shooting percentage from .363 last year to .460 this year. Pasquini has pulled in over 300 rebounds and posted five double-doubles in 42 games for his Pioneer career.