Cal State East Bay University Athletics

HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team's late second half surge was not enough in their 71-59 loss to Seattle Pacific on Saturday afternoon November 11 in Pioneer Gymnasium to close the Pioneer Veteran's Day Weekend Challenge.
 
East Bay got off to a cold start in the first half shooting a horrid 22.2% from the field on 6-for-27 shooting, including 1-for-9 (11.1%) from three-point land. Despite trailing 36-21 at halftime and being down by as much as 19 late in the first half, the Pioneers clawed their way back to a seven point deficit late in the game.
 
The Pioneers did however have an advantage over the Falcons in points off turnovers 16-4 and second chance points 11-8. East Bay forced 17 turnovers from Seattle Pacific, the most since January of last season.
 
A trio of Pioneers all tied for the team-high in points. Jordan Balser (Auburn, Calif.) tallied eight points and tied a career high with six rebounds. He added an assist and two steals on 2-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc in 25 minutes. East Bay also received good production from their bench. Freshman Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) compiled eight points and two rebounds in 23 minutes. Junior Deiondre Bird (Portland, Ore.) supplied eight points, three rebounds and an assist on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor. Bird also went a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
 
Senior Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) scored seven points and dished out a career-best three assist to lead the Pioneers. He went 4-for-4 from the foul line with a rebound, a block and a steal. Junior Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) also put in seven points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Points in the paint were identical with both team scoring 20 in the painted area. Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) chipped in five points, a rebound and an assist for East Bay. Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) also tallied five points, four rebounds and two assists. Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) finished with five points and three rebounds. Kyle Frakes led the Pioneers with six rebounds while adding four points.
 
The Falcons shot 50% from the field for the game including 69.3% from the floor and 75% from three-point range in the second half. Hunter Eisenhower poured in a game-high 17 points for Seattle Pacific.
 
East Bay will open up California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with road games against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A.