HAYWARD, Calif., -- After a week off for finals week, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team will hit the road for a non-conference contest against Western Washington on Tuesday night, November 12 in Sam Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham, Wash.
 
The Pioneers are off to a 4-5 start to the season with a 2-2 mark in none California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matchups. CSUEB has played well in games away from Pioneer Gymnasium as they sit 3-2 in road. The Vikings defeated East Bay 107-81 last season in Hayward.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneer basketball team concluded their road conference weekend with a 1-1 finish. The Pioneer men's basketball dropped their first leg of their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road trip with a 93-78 loss to Cal State San Marcos on November 30 in the Sports Center.
 
East Bay moved to 3-5 overall on the 2017-18 season and a 1-3 mark in conference action through their first four CCAA contests. San Marcos, who was picked to finish third in the CCAA Preseason Polls improves to 6-1 after winning their conference opener.
 
The Pioneers put together a well-rounded outing in a variety of areas despite to frustrating result. Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) turned in a solid performance, compiling a team-best 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting and connecting on three three-pointers. He added four rebounds and a steal while going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe before fouling out after 21 minutes on the floor.
 
Junior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) finished with eight points and three assists on 2-for-5 shooting from behind the the three-point line. Senior center Kyle Frakes (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) scored seven points and corralled three rebounds.
 
East Bay found success in paint production as they outscored San Marcos 34-32 in points in the painted area but the two squads were evenly locked with 31 rebounds apiece. The Pioneer also finished with a 38-13 bench scoring advantage. Senior forward Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) notched 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting, three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 28 minutes off the bench.
 
Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) chipped in nine points and tied the team lead with seven rebounds while sophomore guard Jordan Balser (Auburn, Calif.) also grabbed seven boards to go along with his four points, three assists and two steals.
 
The Cougars were hot from the field in the game as they finished the contest with a 60% shooting mark from floor. San Marcos knocked down 6-for-16 (56.3%) shots from three-point land for the game including 6-for-9 (66.7%) in the second half. East Bay shot 45% from the field for the game and just 33.3% from beyond the arc.
 
San Marcos jumped out to a 44-31 first half lead as that was the most points East Bay has given up in the first half all season. The Pioneers did outscore the Cougars 49-47 after the intermission.
 
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) added eight points, one rebound, an assist and a steal and Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) turned in five points and two rebounds.
 
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team picked up its second California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road victory of the season after defeating Cal State Monterey Bay, 76-54 Saturday night in the Kelp Bed.
 
The Pioneers move to 2-3 in conference play and 4-5 overall on the season after the forcing the Otters to shoot just 34% (18-for-53) from the field, a season-best mark for the CSUEB defense.
 
East Bay controlled the game from the opening tip as they they never trailed after the 15:13 mark in the opening half as they took a 39-21 lead into the intermission. Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) led the Pioneers with 15 points and four assists in 29 minutes of action. He added five rebounds and knocked down all five of his foul shots. Bender has now scored in double figures in four consecutive contests.
 
The Pioneers were relentless inside the painted area as they outscored the Otters 30-26 while also outrebounding them 44-37 for the game. Head coach Bryan Rooney received a 33-15 advantage from his reserves as Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) and Jordan Balser (Auburn, Calif.) each compiled nine points apiece. Mitchell was a force on the defensive with a team-high three steals with six of his eight rebounds ending a CSUMB possession. Balser connected of two of his three attempts from three-point land to go along with three rebounds.
 
East Bay's first half dominance was capped off by 6-for-13 (46.1%) three-point barrage. The Pioneers held Monterey Bay to just three second chance points. Junior guard Juwan Anderson registered 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Anderson went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
The Pioneers shot a team season-high 87.5% from the foul line. Deiondre Byrd (Portland, Ore.) also went 2-for-2 from the free throw line on his way to eight points, two rebounds and an assist. Senior Kyle Frakes grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and scored four points.
 
East Bay forced Monterey Bay into 20 turnovers that resulted in 11 points for the Pioneers. Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) and Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) also give good contribution off the bench for East Bay. Marr chipped in seven points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Bruner provided six points, three rebounds and an assists in 22 minutes of play.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Cal State East Bay is tops in the CCAA in free throwing shooting with 150 made foul shots on 75.8% accuracy as a team. The Pioneers have also been dominant in rebounding averaging 37.4 rebounds per outing, good for fourth in the conference. CSUEB is also second in the CCAA in defensive rebounding (29.9) and offensive rebounds (12.3).
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) leads the Pioneers with 11.4 points per game. Bender captured his second straight Athlete of the Week award after another outstanding performance to lead the Pioneer men's hoops team. The senior guard was the squad's leading scorer in both games this past week, as East Bay fell last Thursday to a very good Cal State Marcos team, 93-78, before blowing out Cal State Monterey Bay, 76-54, in Seaside on Saturday evening.
 
Bender scored 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting against the Cougars and dished out a season-high five assists despite the loss. He scored 15 again against the Otters, adding five rebounds and a team-best four assists to finish the week with averages of 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. He was impressively efficient as well, shooting 50 percent from the field (9-18), 66.7 percent from three-point range (4-6), and 88.9 percent from the foul line (8-9).
 
Bender is adding 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 40.7% shooting from the field with four consecutive double figure scoring games.
 
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) is the only other Pioneer averaging double figures currently on the season. Asah has started in all nine games and has five games with 10 or more points. He is leading the Pioneers in scoring during conference games with 13.2 points in 45.1% shooting from the field. Asah is grabbing 3.7 rebounds with two block so far on the season.
 
Freshman Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) is leading the East Bay reserves in scoring with 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds. Bruner is shooting a team-leading 58.8% from the field and an impressive 62.5% from three-point range.
 
Junior guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) is tops on the team with 3.9 assists per contest. Anderson is chipping in 8.8 points and 2.2 rebounds. His 30.6 minutes per outing in leading the squad as well as his 12 steals.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Western Washington Vikings are currently sitting 5-2 on the season with a 2-0 mark in conference action. The Vikings are coming off three straight wins over Capilano, Concordia and Western Oregon. Daulton Hommes is leading Western Washington with 17.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. Trey Drechsel is adding 12.7 points and 4.4 assists for the Vikings.