HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team will play their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) home opener on Tuesday night, November 21 when the square off against San Francisco State at 7:30 p.m. in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneers are off to a 1-3 start to the season and a 1-1 mark in conference play after splitting their CCAA opening road trip.
 
The Pioneer men's basketball team picked up their first win of the Bryan Rooney era with a 70-57 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opening road win Friday night, November 17 against Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Torodome.
 
With the win, the Pioneer improve to 1-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. It is CSUEB's third consecutive season with a conference opening victory.
 
The Pioneers controlled the game from the opening tip. East Bay raced out to an early 14-2 lead and never trailed in the game.
 
Sophomore guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) turned in the game-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds. Asah went 6-for-12 shooting from the field, including an impressive 4-for-6 from three-point range.
 
East Bay shot a season best 41.2% (7-for-17) from beyond the arc fueled by a 6-for-10 performance in the first half. The Pioneers did it from outside and inside the painted area, outscoring the Toros, 26-10. CSUEB also got great production off the bench to the advantage of 25-21 and led by as many as 19 points early in the second half.
 
Junior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) notched a season-best 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor along with 2-for-4 from three-point land. Anderson dished out four assists, three steals on 32 minutes of action. He also went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
Senior forward Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) was the only other Pioneer to reach double digits providing 10 points and five rebounds in his first game off the bench. Mitchell went 6-for-6 from the charity in 17 minutes on the floor.
 
The Pioneers controlled the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Toros 44-32. East Bay also scored 12 points off 15 turnovers from Dominguez Hills.
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) grabbed a career-best nine rebounds to go with his six points, two assists and one steal in his first start of the season. Junior Deiondre Bird (Portland, Ore.) also got his first start of the season and compiled four points, five rebounds, four assists and a block.
 
Much of the East Bay bench production came from Patrick Marr, Jordan Balser and Keshawn Bruner. Marr added six points and two rebounds on 4-for-4 shooting from the free throw line. Balser chipped in five points, three rebounds and a steal. Bruner put in four points and two rebounds on 2-for-3 shooting from the floor.
 
The Pioneer men's basketball team shot a season-high 48.9 percent from the field, but lost 84-67 on the road at Cal State L.A. Saturday night, November 18 in the Eagles Nest.
 
The Pioneers (1-3, 1-1 CCAA) will return to Hayward 1-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) action after their road trip to Southern California.
 
Sophomore guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) led East Bay with 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field including 2-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc. He added five rebounds and a block in 30 minutes on the court.
 
East Bay was edged out in paint play as CSULA outscored the CSUEB, 30-26 inside the square and outrebounded the Pioneers 30-28. Despite that, Head coach Bryan Rooney saw his team ahead by five (22-17) midway through the first half.
 
All together the Pioneers had three players score in double digits for the game. Senior center Kyle Frakes (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) notched a season-high 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor. Frakes corralled three rebounds and blocked one shot in 18 minutes on the floor.
 
Sophomore guard Jordan Balser (Auburn, Calif.) helped East Bay claim the advantage in bench production, 28-25 over Cal State L.A. Balser finished the game with 10 points and two assists on 3-for-7 accuracy from the field. He also went a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
 
Freshman Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) compiled seven points points, two assists, a rebound and a steal in 18 minutes while going 3-for-4 for from the field. Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) also chipped in five points and four rebounds.
 
East Bay also had their second consecutive game shooting over 40% from three-point range. Junior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) supplied seven points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals on a team best 33 minutes on the court.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Sophomore guard Druce Asah is the only Pioneer scoring in double figures with 11.5 points on 43.8% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. He is also grabbing a team best 5.0 rebounds per outing. Asah has now reached double figures and grabbed at least five boards in three out of four contests.
 
Junior point guard Juwan Anderson is dishing out a team-leading 3.0 points while scoring 9.8 points. Anderson has registered eight steals and is averaging 32.3 minutes of game action.
Senior Jelani Mitchell is adding 8.0 points and 2.5 rebounds on 40% shooting from the field. Drew Bender and Keshawn Bruner are both putting in 6.8 points off the bench.
 
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO STATE
The San Francisco State Gators were tabbed to finish 5th in the CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll and are off to a 3-1 start to the season. They will open conference play in their game against the Pioneers. Evan Zeller is averaging 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. Warren Jackson is adding 13.3 points and 4.8 assists.