BELMONT, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team posted its highest scoring game of the season on Saturday, defeating Holy Names 88-75 in non-conference action to close out Thanksgiving weekend.

The Pioneers (3-4) jumped out to a big lead in the first half and held off HNU's late comeback attempt for their second straight victory. They shot a season-high 54.9 percent from the field as a team and dominated the Hawks on the glass, finishing with a 44-13 rebounding advantage.

HNU's 13 rebounds is the lowest total allowed by CSUEB in a single game since re-joining Division II nine years ago. The Pioneers ended up with more boards just on the offensive end (15) than the Hawks had the entire evening. 

East Bay grabbed momentum from the opening tip and took an 11-2 lead by the first media timeout. Senior Drew Bender was hot in the early going, scoring 13 of his game-high 23 points in the first half as the Pioneers stretched their lead out to 17 late in the opening period. 

Holy Names mounted a brief rally to open the second half, going on a 7-0 run to cut their deficit to seven. But that was as close as the Hawks would get. East Bay kept the pressure on with a hot shooting performance, and they prevented second-chance opportunities by controlling the boards throughout the evening.

Freshman Keshawn Bruner turned in an outstanding performance, scoring 19 points in the second half as the Pioneers cruised to victory. He finished with a career-high 21 points with an extremely efficient effort, going 6-for-7 from the field and 9-for-10 at the free throw line. 

For the second night in a row, CSUEB was excellent at the charity stripe (27-for-33), preventing the Hawks from chipping away late and extending the game with fouls. 

Bender's 23 points were a career high for the senior, and his third time reaching double figures this season. He finished 7-for-17 from the floor, including 3-for-7 from downtown, to go along with six rebounds.

Juwan Anderson scored nine points and dished out six assists to lead all players in the game. Kyle Frakes, Jelani Mitchell, and Patrick Marr chipped in seven points apiece, and Marr grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Next up, the Pioneers return to their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule and wrap up the month of November with a road trip to Cal State San Marcos for a Thursday evening conference game.