HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State men's basketball team will open California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with a trip to Southern California with matchups against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A.
 
East Bay will take on Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7:30 p.m. in the Torodome on Friday, November 17. Then CSUEB will face off against Cal State L.A. at 7:30 p.m. in the Eagles Nest on Saturday, November 18.
 
The Pioneers are off to an 0-2 start to the season and are looking to kickoff conference play on the right foot.
 
This will be the first CCAA road swing for head coach Bryan Rooney who after 10 seasons as the head coach California Maritime Academy, accumulated 200 victories and captured seven California Pacific (CalPac) Conference championships.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneers opened the 2017-18 regular season with losses to Montana State-Billings and Seattle Pacific.
 
he Pioneer men's basketball team dropped a tight contest 74-72 to Montana State-Billings in their season opening game.
 
The Pioneers and Yellowjackets battled down to the final seconds of the game in the second matchup of the Pioneer Veteran's Day Weekend Challenge. The game featured three lead changes and four times for a winner was decided as neither team led by more then eight points.
 
CSUEB and MSUB came out on fire as both squads shot 50% from the field in the first half. The Yellowjackets would keep the hot hand in the second half as they finished the game shooting 50% from the field while the Pioneers shot 43.3% for the game after posting a 36.6 shooting percentage after the intermission.
 
The deciding factor in the game seemed to be the three-point line as East Bay shot an abysmal 7.1% (1-for-14) from beyond the arc. Montana-State Billings went 12-for-22 (54.5%) from long distance for the game.
 
Despite the tough night from three-point land the Pioneers held a 39-36 lead at halftime. But the the Yellowjackets would outscore the Pioneers 38-33 in the second half.
 
Senior Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the Pioneers with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field. Bender added three assists, three steals and a rebound in 27 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) was the only other East Bay double figure scorer with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in 23 minutes of action.
 
The Pioneers dominated the points in the paint, 42-18 and points off turnovers, 34-11. East Bay also garnered 39 points off the bench to just 16 for Montana State-Billings. East Bay outrebounded the Yellowjackets 33-31 for the game.
 
Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.), Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) and Deiondre Bird also chipped in nine points apiece for the Pioneers. Anderson racked up a team-high four assists with a rebound and a steal in 34 minutes on the court. Mitchell shot 3-for-6 from the field while grabbing four rebounds. Bird notched a career-best in point on 4-for-5 accuracy from the floor while adding two assists, two steals and a rebound in 22 minutes off the bench.
 
Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go with his six points. Freshman Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) finished with eight points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and posting a rim-rocking dunk down the middle of the lane in the Pioneer debut.
 
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.
 
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.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Senior guard Drew Bender is leading the Pioneers in scoring after two game putting in 9.5 points per outing. He is also averaging 2.0 assists and is tied for the team lead with three steals. Bender is shooting 44.4% from the field while playing around 21.5 minutes per game off the bench.
 
Junior Deiondre Bird is putting in 8.5 points per game on a team best 70.0% shooting accuracy from the floor. Bird is adding 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and two steals in 23.0 minutes per game off the bench. He is also a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
 
Three Pioneers are all scoring at an 8.0 per game clip. Junior point guard Juwan Anderson leads East Bay with 3.0 assists per outing one 32.0 minutes per game. Anderson is adding 1.5 rebounds per game and three steals. Senior forward Jelani Mitchell is chipping in 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the Pioneers. Freshman guard Keshawn Bruner is shooting 60.0% from the field to go along with 1.5 rebounds per game.
 
Junior forward Patrick Marr is pacing the Pioneers with 6.5 rebounds per game and 5.5 points in 18.0 minutes off the bench.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS
The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros are 1-2 on the season with losses to Cal Baptist and Holy Names and a 77-74 win over Dominican. The Toros finished the 2016-17 season with a 15-12 overall record and a 11-9 mark in conference play. Jonathan Nichols leads CSUDH with 15.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Khalil Bedart-Ghani is adding 14.0 points and a tem-best 5.0 assists per game.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE LA
The Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles are 2-1 on the year with wins over Holy Names and Dixie State with their only loss coming at the hands of Cal Baptist. The Golden Eagles completed the 2016-17 season with a 14-16 overall mark and a 9-11 CCAA record. Elliot Smith leads CSULA with 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Garrett Carter is adding 12.0 points and 2.3 assists per contest.