HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team dropped a tough OT thriller 82-90 to the visiting #21 San Francisco State Gators on Homecoming Saturday night, February 11 in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
After a Micah Dunhour go ahead midrange jumper, the Gator's Warren Jackson sunk the game tying free throws with 0.9 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. SF State would go on to outscore East Bay 17-9 in the extra minutes.
 
The Pioneers led at intermission 34-30, even leading by as much as 14 midway through the first half. The contest was a physical game that featured four lead changes and five ties.
 
With the loss, the Pioneers fall to 12-13 on the season and 5-12 in California Colligate Athletic Association (CCAA) action.
 
SF State (20-3, 13-3 CCAA), who swept the season series over East Bay, shot 45.9 percent from the floor and 40.9 percent from long distance including 83.3 percent in the overtime which proved to be the difference in the game. The Pioneers shot 44.4 percent accuracy from the floor, including 50.0 percent from the field in the second half of play. CSUEB shot 33.3 percent and 16.6 percent from three-point land in the overtime period.
 
The East Bay bench outscored the SF State bench by 14 (35-21) led by junior guard Drew Bender career high 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting and 5-for-6 accuracy from three-point range. Bender was an offensive force tonight, routinely hitting timely buckets for the Pioneers down the stretch. Bender added one rebound and one block in 25 minutes on the floor.
 
Three different Pioneers grabbed eight rebounds apiece led by senior forward Micah Dunhour who tallied 16 points to go with his eight rebounds. Dunhour also had two assists and a block in 8-for-15 from the floor. Senior guard Jalen Richard compiled 15 points with his eight boards. He added three assists on a team best 38 minutes on the court. Senior forward Lamine Mbodj chipped in six points and corralled eight rebounds on 3-for-6 shooting in 32 minutes of action.
 
Sophomore point guard Juwan Anderson dished out a game high seven assists, while scoring nine points and three rebounds on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc in 29 minutes off the bench.
 
The battle in the paint was split evenly between both squads as the Gators outscored the Pioneers in paint points 34-28, but East Bay outrebounded SF State 41-36 and outscored them in second chance points 15-10.
 
Warren Jackson, the reigning CCAA player of the week, led the Gators with a game high 31 points and five rebounds. AJ Kahlon added 19 points and eight rebounds for SF State.
 
The Pioneers will travel south to take on Cal State San Marcos on Saturday night, February 18 in The Sports Center. Tip off will be at 7:30 p.m.