HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team will return to California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with road matchups against Cal State San Marcos and Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
East Bay will play against Cal State San Marcos at 7:30 p.m. in the Sports Center Thursday, November 30 and then the Pioneers will travel to Cal State Monterey Bay to play the Otters in the Kelp Bed at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 2.
 
CSUEB is off to a 1-2 mark in conference action and a 3-4 overall start to the season after winning both contests of the NDNU Thanksgiving Tournament.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team was victorious in non-conference action on Friday evening, holding off a late comeback attempt by Notre Dame de Namur to beat the Argonauts by a final score of 71-68.
 
Feeling no lingering effect of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Pioneers (2-4) came out hot to start the game. They grabbed an 11-3 lead in the first five minutes before the home team started to claw back. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the first half, with East Bay eventually opening up a seven-point lead heading into halftime. The Pioneers got their whole squad in on the action, as 10 different players scored in the opening half.
 
The Pioneers appeared to grab control of the game coming out of the break. Drew Bender and Deiondre Bird keyed a 17-4 run over the first five minutes of the second half, which gave CSUEB a 20-point lead.
 
East Bay still lead by 18 point after a pair of Bender free throws following the eight-minute media timeout, but there was still a lot of time left. The Argonatus proceeded to rattle off a 16-1 run to cut their deficit to just three. NDNU's RJ Louis triggered the comeback, scoring 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half.
 
The Pioneers didn't let NDNU get any closer than three points, however, as the home team wasn't quite able to pull off the comeback. East Bay was clutch went it counted to secure the victory, going 11-for-11 at the free throw as a team in the final two minutes.
 
CSUEB shot well collectively for the night, finishing at 46.3 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from long distance. They also dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Argonauts 39-23.
 
Bender scored 15 points to lead a trio of Pioneers in double figures. The senior went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, adding four rebounds and two steals. Bird and Druce Asah both totaled 11 points and four rebounds. Bird was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, while Asah grabbed a team-high three steals.
 
Senior Kyle Frakes had his most impactful game of the year, tallying nine points, seven boards, and a pair of steals in a season-high 22 minutes.
 
Juwan Anderson dished out a team-high five assists to go along with five points. Jordan Balser added seven points off the bench, and freshman Keshawn Bruner contributed six.
 
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.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) is leading the Pioneers with 12.1 points. He is also adding 4.0 rebounds on 45% shooting from the floor and 41.4% accuracy from three-point range. Asah has scored in double figures in five of East Bay's seven games.
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) is the only other CSUEB player averaging double digits with 10.4 points per outing. Bender is adding 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 25.4 minutes. He has scored in double figures in two consecutive matchups.
 
Freshman Keshawn Bruner is leading the Pioneer bench with 9.4 points while boasting a team-best 64.9% shooting from the field. Bruner is also shooting a team-leading 50% from ling distance. He notched a career best 21 points in the Pioneers win over Holy Names.
 
Junior point guard Juwan Anderson is leading the Pioneers with 4.3 assists and 31.9 minutes per contest, both good for fifth in the CCAA. His 11 steals also lead the East Bay squad. Anderson is chipping in 8.4 points and 83.9% from the foul line.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
The Cal State San Marcos Cougars are off to a 5-1 start to the season. CSUSM is on a current four game win streak with wins over West Coast Baptist, Azuza Pacific, Concordia and San Diego Christian. Ethan Alvano is leading the CCAA with 20.0 points per games and 7.7 assists. Josh Spiers is adding 14.8 points and 5.2 rebounds. The Cougars are 4-0 all-time over the Pioneers.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
The Cal State Monterey Bay Otters are 2-5 on the season and 1-2 in CCAA play. The Otters are coming off a loss to Sonoma State and a win over Dominican. Mateo Jones is leading Monterey Bay with 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds. Jahvon Johnson is adding 10.3 points and 2.4 assists per contest.