SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team's comeback attempt of Cal State San Bernardino fell just short as they dropped a close, 89-87 contest on the road Friday night, December 29 in Coussoulis Arena.
 
It was East Bay's first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) game since the holiday break and the Pioneers holiday rust reared its ugly head as CSUEB shot just 10% (1-for-10) from three-point range in the first half. And despite trailing the Coyotes, 48-32 at the intermission the Pioneers fought back to outscore CSUSB, 55-41 in the second half.
 
East Bay moved to 6-7 on the season with a 2-5 mark in conference play.
 
The Pioneers were led by senior Drew Bender's (Phoenix, Ariz.) career-best 25 points, including 17 first half points. Bender added six rebounds, three assists on 32 minutes of action. He also went 10-for-12 from the foul line for the game.
 
The Pioneers dominated across the board outrebounding the Coyotes, 39-33 and outscored the San Bernardino 32-26 in the painted area. CSUSB jumped out to a huge first half lead after shooting 8-for-16 from beyond the arc. Even then the East Bay bench scored 29 points to just 26 points from the San Bernardino reserves. The Pioneers also scored 14 points off 13 Coyote turnovers.
 
Senior center Kyle Frakes (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) recorded his first double-double of the season notching 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He also led the Pioneers with three blocks while dishing out two assists. Fellow senior forward Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) tallied a career-best 15 points in 22 minutes to lead the East Bay reserves. Mitchell corralled four rebounds, recorded a block and a steal while going 5-for-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
The Pioneers three-point shooting improved drastically in the second half of the game as they shot 50% (7-for-14) from long range as a team. East Bay shot 44% (29-for-66) from the field for the evening.
 
Sophomore guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) scored 12 points while knocked down three three-pointers for East Bay. Asah added five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. Asah has four consecutive double digit scoring efforts. Junior point guard Juwan Anderson led the Pioneers with five assists on the night. Anderson chipped in 11 points while also connecting on three three-point field goals to go with two rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes on the court.
 
East Bay will complete their CCAA road trip with a matchup against Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday night, December 30 in Kellogg Gym at 7:30 p.m.