HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Pioneer men's basketball team will begin the month of February with road contests against Humboldt State on Thursday night, February 1 and Chico State on Saturday evening, February 3. Both games are set to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
 
Cal State East Bay is currently 11th in the CCAA Standings with an 8-14 overall record with a 4-12 mark in conference play.
 
LAST ACTION
The Pioneer men's basketball team was narrowly edged out by #25 ranked Cal Poly Pomona Broncos, 60-58 Friday night, January 26 in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
The Pioneers had a trio of chances to win the game down the stretch but a missed jump shot, an offensive foul and three-point buzzer beater heave that nearly rimmed off all but sealed the game for CSUEB.
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) led East Bay with a game high 20 points on 7-for-16 accuracy from the floor. Bender added three rebounds, three steals and an assist in 33 minutes of action. It was his third game scoring 20 or more points.
 
Senior center Kyle Frakes (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) recorded his third double double in the last four games and fourth double double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Frakes went 5-for-9 from the field while going 6-for-7 from the foul line in 23 minutes on the court.
 
Freshman guard Keshawn Bruner (Sacramento, Calif.) led the East Bay reserves with seven points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field. Jordan Balser (Aubrun, Calif.) added four points and two assists and Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) chipped in four points, three rebounds and two steals.
 
Junior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) paced the Pioneers with five assists to go along with five points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.
 
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team dropped a tough home contest, 91-70 to the visiting Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes Saturday night, January 27 in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
It was the Pioneers sixth straight California Collegiate Athletic Association loss as they fall to 8-14 on the season and 4-12 in conference play. The Coyotes also swept the season series over CSUEB after picking up a close, 89-87 victory on December 29 in Coussoulis Arena.
 
However, the Pioneers did have three player compile double digits on the night led by 12 points from sophomore guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) on 4-for-8 shooting accuracy. Asah added two rebounds while going 4-for-6 from the foul line in 22 minutes.
 
Senior center Kyle Frakes (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) scored 11 points, collected eight rebounds and dished one assist while going 4-for-7 for the game.
 
Senior forward Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) led the East Bay reserves with 10 points, two rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes of action. Mitchell went 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.
 
Freshman guard Brycen Wight (Oxnard, Calif.) put in seven points in just eight minutes while not missing a shot from the floor. Junior forward Deiondre Bird (Portland, Ore.) put in eight points, four rebounds and a team best three assists for CSUEB. Junior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) scored eight points, two rebounds and an assists on a team high 26 minutes.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Cal State East Bay is sixth in the CCAA in free throwing shooting with 326 made foul shots on 72.6% accuracy as a team. The Pioneers have also been dominant in rebounding averaging 36.5 rebounds per outing, good for third in the conference. CSUEB is also second in the CCAA in rebounding defense (31.5) and first in offensive rebounds (11.9).
 
Senior guard Drew Bender (Phoenix, Ariz.) is notching a team-best 12.1 points per game. Bender is adding 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 40.6% shooting from the field with 14 double figure scoring outings including five of the first six games to start of 2018.
 
Sophomore Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif) is second on the Pioneers with 11.6 points per contest. Asah has started 21 games and has 14 games with 10 or more points. He is leading the Pioneers in scoring during conference games with 11.9 points in 36.0% shooting from the field. Asah is grabbing 3.8 rebounds with two blocks and nine steals so far on the season.
 
Asah also leads East Bay with 41 made three-points with a 35.7% shooting clip from long distance.
 
Senior Kyle Frakes (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) has notched double-doubles in three of the last five East Bay outings. Frakes is averaging 7.7 points and a team leading 6.4 rebounds.
 
Junior guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) is tops on the team and second in the conference with 4.5 assists per contest. His 98 total assists are second best in the CCAA. Anderson is chipping in 9.4 points and 2.8 rebounds. His 29.9 minutes per outing in leading the squad as well as his 22 steals. He has 14 games with at least four assists and he dished out a career best 10 assists vs. UC San Diego.
 
SCOUTING HUMBOLDT STATE
The Humboldt State Lumberjacks are sitting 12th in the CCAA with a 6-15 mark overall and a 3-12 record in conference action. Humboldt State is coming off back to back losses to Cal State L.A., 81-77 and Cal State Dominguez Hills, 78-72. Tyras Rattler, Jr. leads Humboldt State with 13.4 points and 3.6 assists. Davasyia Hagger is adding 11.0 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Lumberjacks.
SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Chico State Wildcats are fourth in the CCAA with a 14-5 record on the season and a 11-4 record in conference play. Chico State is coming off consecutive wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills, 82-64 and Cal State L.A., 85-58. Corey Silverstorm is leading the Wildcats with 14.6 points and 3.9 assists. Jalen McFerren is adding 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds from Chico State.
 
Chico State defeated East Bay, 77-65 on December 16 in Pioneer Gymnasium.