HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team will close the 2017 calendar year with a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) bout against Chico State on Saturday night, December 16 at 7:30 pm and will take on Pacific Union on Tuesday evening, December 19 at 6:00 pm.
 
East Bay is sitting at 5-5 on the season with a 2-3 mark in CCAA play and winning their last two contests.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
After a week off for finals, the Pioneer men's basketball team picked up a momentous 80-76 non-conference road win over Western Washington Tuesday night, December 12 in Carver Gym. East Bay avenged last season's 107-81 loss to WWU in Pioneer Gymnasium with the huge West Region win.
 
Cal State East Bay now sits .500 on the season as they improved to 5-5 on the season after racking up their second consecutive victory. CSUEB is now 3-2 in none California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) contests and 4-2 in games played away from Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
East Bay shot a season best 52. percent (11-for-22) from three-point land while stifling the Viking offensive attack to only 36.9 percent shooting from the field and 25.8 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Western Washington was just the third team all season to out-rebound East Bay as they claimed a 45-35 advantage on the boards. CSUEB evened up the paint battle by outscoring WWU 32-30 inside the painted area.
 
The Pioneers controlled the came from the opening tip as they never trailed after the 9:49 mark in the the first half of action. Junior forward Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) captured his second career double-double and first of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds, including 10 rebounds before the intermission. Marr shot 5-for-8 from the floor, going 2-for-4 from beyond three-point land, two assists and a steal in 26 minutes off the bench.
 
Cal State East Bay would mount a 13-point lead early in the second half, but the Vikings would put together various runs to pull within single digit deficits. Then with 01:07 left on the clock Marr sunk a three-point field goal to put the Pioneers ahead, 78-74 and helped seal the deal for East Bay.
 
Senior Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.), back-to-back CSUEB Athlete of the Week winner, continued his hot shooting with a game high 18 points on 7-for-15 accuracy from the field. It was his fifth consecutive game scoring in double figures. Bender added two assists, a block and a steal with shooting 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
 
The Pioneers notched 12 points after forcing 14 turnovers from the Vikings. Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) also turned in a huge performance with 17 points (6-for-13) as he led East Bay with three made three-point baskets on the evening. Asah was also second on the team with seven rebounds while dishing two assists and garnering one steal in 31 minutes on the court.
 
Junior's Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) and Deiondre Bird (Portland, Ore.) recorded good outings for East Bay. Anderson accumulated over half of the Pioneer assist output tossing out a game-high seven assists. He chipped in four points and grabbed two rebounds in 21 minutes. Bird tallied 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 fro, behind the three-point line. Bird racked up three rebounds and recorded a steal in 22 minutes.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Cal State East Bay is tops in the CCAA in free throwing shooting with 161 made foul shots on 74.9% accuracy as a team. The Pioneers have also been dominant in rebounding averaging 37.2 rebounds per outing, good for fifth in the conference. CSUEB is also second in the CCAA in defensive rebounding (31.4.9) and offensive rebounds (12.0).
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) leads the Pioneers with 12.1 points per game. Bender is adding 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on 41.7% shooting from the field with five consecutive double figure scoring games.
 
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) is the only other Pioneer averaging double figures currently on the season with 11.4 points per contest. Asah has started in all 10 games and has six 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 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. Bruner is shooting a team-leading 56.1% from the field and an impressive 66.7% from three-point range.
 
Junior guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) is tops on the team with 4.2 assists per contest. Anderson is chipping in 8.3 points and 2.2 rebounds. His 29.6 minutes per outing in leading the squad as well as his 12 steals. He has six games with at least four assists.
 
SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Chico State Wildcats have began the season 6-2 and are currently 4-1 in CCAA play with back-to-back victories over Cal State San Bernardino, 83-64 on December 3 and San Francisco State, 62-56 on December 9. Corey Silverstrom is leading Chico State with 15.6 points and 4.4 assists per game. Isaiah Ellis is adding 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING PACIFIC UNION
The Pacific Union Pioneers are off to a 1-4 start to the season after suffering losses to Menlo College, 86-54 on November 29. and The Master's University, 92-74 and December 2.