SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team suffered a tough 70-63 setback road loss to Cal State San Marcos despite a magnificent showing from senior forward Micah Dunhour on Saturday night, February 18 in The Sports Center.
 
Micah Dunhour led the Pioneers with a game high 29 points and 11 rebounds on 12-for-18 shooting from the floor. Dunhour went a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range and 3-for-4 from the free throw line with one steal in 38 minutes of action. This was Dunhour's seventh double double of the season and has scored in double digits in 23 of the last 27 Pioneer games.
 
The loss drops the Pioneers to 12-14 on the season and 5-13 in CCAA play. Cal State San Marcos swept the season series after defeating the the Pioneers 109-108 in double overtime of January 5 in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
East Bay battled back in the second half after trailing 29-39 at the intermission, the largest lead for the Cougars. The Pioneers outscored the Cougars 34-31 in the second half behind 51.6 percent shooting from the field while limiting San Marcos to 30.4 shooting from the floor.
 
While the Pioneers dominated the painted area outrebounding the Cougars 40-24 and outscoring San Marcos in paint points 24-16. But the San Marcos' 29 points off 18 Pioneer turnovers proved to be one of the deciding factors in the game. The Cougars also went 38.9 percent from beyond the arc while the Pioneers finished 19.0 percent from three-point land.
 
The CSUEB bench helped bring the Pioneers back in the second half of action but outscoring the Cougar bench 21-6. East Bay would come back to tie the game six times and take a lead late in the second half.
 
The junior duo of Drew Bender and Kyle Frakes tallied six points apiece. Bender added a rebound, an assist and two steals in 26 minutes on the floor. Frakes grabbed a game high 10 rebounds on 3-for-5 shooting from the field in 24 minutes.
 
Senior guard Jalen Richard complied eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes of action.
 
Ethan Alvano paced the Cougars with 27 points and four assists. Joe Boyd added 12 points and seven rebounds for San Marcos.
 
The Pioneers will conclude the 2016-17 regular season by hosting the Chico State Wildcats on Friday, February 24 and welcoming Stanislaus State on Saturday, February 25. The game against Chico State will be "Pink Night" and Saturday's game against Stanislaus State will be "Senior Night" as East Bay will be honoring it's three seniors. Both games are set to tip at 5:30 p.m. in Pioneer Gymnasium.