HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team will return from their holiday break with a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Southern California road trip to face Cal State san Bernardino on Friday, December 29 at Coussoulis Arena and will take on Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday evening, December 30 in Kellogg Gym. The games will begin at 7:30 pm on both nights.
 
East Bay is sitting at 6-6 on the season with a 2-4 mark in CCAA play and with wins in three of their last four contests.
 
LAST ACTION
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team picked up an, 82-72 victory over Pacific Union in non-conference action on Tuesday night, December 19 in Pioneer Gymnasium to close out their 2017 home season.
 
It was the first home win of the season for East Bay as they improved to 6-6 on the season and 4-2 in non-California Collegiate Athletic Association games.
 
East Bay shot a season-high 56.1 (32-for-57) from the field for the game. It was just the second time all season that Easy Bay finished over 50% shooting as a team for a game. East completed the game with their third consecutive contest shooting over 40% going from beyond the arc 7-for-17 (41.2%) on the evening.
 
East Bay controlled the game the game from the opening tip although Pacific Union would remain within shouting distance down to the closing seconds on the game. East Bay never trailed by more than one point and took their largest lead of 14 points midway through the second half of action.
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) led East Bay with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field with three rebounds, a game-high three steals and two assists. Bender went a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line in 26 minutes of action.
 
Bender has scored in double figures in six of the last seven contests.
 
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) compiled 16 points while knocking down a team-best three three-pointer to go along with seven rebounds, an assist and a steal in 22 minutes on the court. Asah has now made at three or more three-pointer field goals in three consecutive outings.
 
Junior guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) led East Bay with seven assists to go with three points, three rebounds and two steals on a game high 29 minutes on the floor. Anderson has dished out five or more assists in three straight games and six total contest this season.
 
Pacific Union was able to score 22 points off 20 forced turnovers from East Bay. But it was East Bay that dominated the painted area and bench production. East Bay outscored Pacific Union 48-22 in paint points while also outrebounding Pacific Union 41-27. The East Bay reserves also had a strong showing with 44 points to just 28 points from the Pacific Union bench unit.
 
East Bay defense was in full effect again tonight holding Pacific Union to just 37.3% (22-for-59) shooting from the field, the third lowest so far on the season. Pacific Union did however find range from beyond the three-point arc going 10-for-18 (55.6%) for the game.
 
Freshman forward Wyatt Maker (Salinas, Calif.) turned in an outstand performance registering career high marks in points, rebounds and minutes played. Maker grabbed a game best 10 rebounds and narrowly missed a double double after putting in nine points on 4-for-5 shooting for the game in 10 minutes.
 
Freshman Jordan Balser (Aubrun, Calif.) also notched nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor with three assists and two rebounds on 26 minutes off the bench. Freshman Brycen Wight (Oxnard, Calif.) put in a career best eight points on 2-for-4 shooting from three-point range and two rebounds in a reserve role for East Bay.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Cal State East Bay is fourth in the CCAA in free throwing shooting with 183 made foul shots on 73.8% accuracy as a team. The Pioneers have also been dominant in rebounding averaging 36.9 rebounds per outing, good for third in the conference. CSUEB is also second in the CCAA in rebounding defense (31.4) and offensive rebounds (12.1).
 
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) leads the Pioneers with 12.8 points per contest. Asah has started in all 12 games and has seven games with 10 or more points. He is leading the Pioneers in scoring during conference games with 14.8 points in 46.9% shooting from the field. Asah is grabbing 3.9 rebounds with two blocks and seven steals so far on the season.
 
Asah also leads East Bay with 24 made three-points with a 40.0% shooting clip from long distance.
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) is notching 11.7 points per game. Bender is adding 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 42.7% shooting from the field with seven double figure scoring outings.
 
Freshman Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) is leading the East Bay reserves in scoring with 8.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 20.8 minutes. Bruner is shooting a team-leading 53.0% from the field and an impressive 60.0% from three-point range.
 
Junior guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) is tops on the team and fourth in the conference with 4.5 assists per contest. His 54 total assists are second best in the CCAA. Anderson is chipping in 7.6 points and 2.3 rebounds. His 29.1 minutes per outing in leading the squad as well as his 14 steals. He has eight games with at least four assists.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes are 4-6 on the season with a 2-4 CCAA mark after falling to Cal State LA 79-71 and picking up a 70-65 victory over Cal Poly Pomona. Jacardo Hawkins leads the Coyotes with 13.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Ajon Effferson is chiiping in 10.9 points and 2.8 assists.
 
SCOUTING CAL POLY POMONA
The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos are boast a 7-2 record so far and sit 4-1 in conference action with wins in three of their last four CCAA matchups. Jordan Ogundiran leads Cal Poly Pomona with 18 points and and 4.9 assists per game. William Christmas is adding 15.2 points and 7.9 rebounds for the Broncos.