HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team will look to remain undefeated in Pioneer Gymnasium on the season as they welcome Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. to Hayward for California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) weekend matches.
 
The Pioneers are 5-1 on the season with a 2-0 mark in conference play and a 3-0 record inside of Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team suffered their first defeat of the 2018-19 season in a tough road game to Dominican University on Tuesday night, November 20 in the Conlan Center. The Pioneers narrowly fell to the Penguins by a final score of 56-53.
 
The Pioneers battled back from a eight-point halftime deficit but struggled from three-point range and at the foul line. East Bay shot a season low 6.7% (1-for-15) from beyond the arc and 28.6% (4-for-14) from the free throw line. The Pios also tied a season low with 40% shooting from the field although they did connect of 43.3% of their field goals in the second half.
 
Junior Ant Navarrete (San Lorenzo, Calif.) lead East Bay with game-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field. Navarrete added five rebounds, three steals and a block. He has scored in double figures through all five games this season.
 
The Pioneers defense stiffened up in the second half of action as they forced the home team Penguins to just 9-for-28 (32.1%) shooting from the floor after going 13-for-23 (56.5%) in the opening half of play. East Bay also forced Dominican into 19 turnovers that accounted for 14 points for CSUEB.
 
Senior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) compiled eight points to go along with four rebounds, two steals and an assist through 31 minutes of action. Evan Wardlow (Lake View Terrance, Calif.) chipped in six points, five rebounds, one steal and an assist.
 
Cal State East Bay held the points in the paint battle, 40-34 over Dominican, but it was the Penguins that outrebounded the Pioneers 41-34 for the contest. The Pios scored 12 second chance points, 12 fast break points and garnered 15 points from their reserves.
 
Junior Trent Warren (Melbourne, Australia) paced the CSUEB reserves with seven points through 15 minutes on the floor. Warren also knocked down the Pioneers lone three-pointer. Justin Vigil grabbed a team-best seven rebounds in only seven minutes off the bench. He also scored two points. Pattick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) notched four points and four rebounds while Nai Carlisle also added four points, three steals two assists and a rebound.
 
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team opened its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule with a decisive 91-62 victory over visiting Cal State San Marcos Saturday afternoon.
 
There was a great deal for which to be thankful on this holiday weekend at Pioneer Gymnasium, as CSUEB dominated the game in virtually every way. The Pioneers held the Cougars under 40 percent shooting, while hitting at 47.5 percent themselves.
 
Led by a trio of newcomers in Nai Carlisle, Jesse Galloway, and Trent Warren, East Bay was red-hot from long distance. As a team, they knocked down 50 percent from beyond the arc, and they were particularly stellar in the second half, going 7-for-10.
 
It was also an impressive defensive effort for the home team, which tallied 10 steals and out-rebounded San Marcos handily, 43-26. Through six games, the Pioneers have been among the stingiest defenses in the CCAA, ranking No. 2 in the conference at 62.8 points allowed per game.
 
CSUEB briefly trailed 5-0 early in the first half as the visitors hit the first two buckets of the game, but the Pioneers quickly answered with an 18-0 run to take over the momentum.
 
That stretch was highlighted by two triples from Galloway and three baskets by senior Evan Wardlow. The Cougars finally halted the scoring run with a three-pointer of their own, but East Bay never relinquished its lead. CSUSM played the Pioneers basically even the rest of the first half, then the home team pulled away over the final 20 minutes.
 
Carlisle was the catalyst offensively, pouring in a career-high 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting. He also tied for the team lead with five rebounds along with senior Patrick Marr.
 
Galloway turned in a nearly flawless performance in his first career start. The freshman scored 12 points, went 4-for-4 from long distance, and dished out a team-high five assists with just one turnover.
 
Warren finished 3-for-6 from three-point range and tallied 15 points in just 16 minutes off the bench. Those three players were the only Pioneers to score in double figures, but head coach Bryan Rooney got a tremendous effort from his bench overall. 13 different players scored in the blowout win, with 11 of them playing at least 10 minutes.
 
PIONEER POINTS
The Pioneers are 5-1 on the season with a 2-0 mark in conference play and a 3-0 record inside of Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
The Pioneers are ranked second in the conference in defensive points allowed with 62.8 per game. The Pios are also shooting 72.6% from the charity stripe which is second in the CCAA while also ranking top five in rebounding offense and defense.
 
The Pioneers have six players averaging seven or more points per contest after the opening six games of the season. Senior guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) is tied for the CSUEB lead in scoring with 13.2 points and 3.6 assists on 29.4 minutes per game. Anderson is also corralling 3.2 rebounds per outing while also being third of the Pios with eight steals and shooting 89.7% (26-for-29) from the free throw line. He is currently third CCAA in assists and tops in assist to turnover ratio.
 
Junior Ant Navarrete (San Lorenzo, Calif.) is putting in 13.2 points while leading the team with 8.0 rebounds per game, which is good for 4th in the league. He is also shooting 57.4% (23-for-39) from the field on 28.3 minutes per game. Navarrete is tied for eighth in the nation with three double doubles which is tops in the CCAA.
 
Nai Carlisle (West Lafayette, Ind.) is shooting 56.3% from the field while contributing 12.5 points per contest. Calisle is second on the team with eight three-pointers made while shooting at a 53.3% clip. He has added 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per outing.
 
Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) is compiling 7.5 points while tying for second on the squad grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game. Marr has started all six games while registering six blocks and shooting averages of 42.9% from the field, 36.4% from beyond the arc and 77.3% from the free throw line.
 
Evan Wardlow (Lake View Terrance, Calif.) is tallying 8.0 points per game while corralling 5.2 rebounds through for starts. Wardlow is playing 27.2 minutes per game while connecting on a team best 91% (10-for-11) from the free throw line.
 
Trent Warren (Melbourne, Australia) is pacing the Pioneer reserves with 9.2 points per game on 14.7 minutes off the bench. He is leading CSUEB with 10 three-point field goals made on 40% shooting from three and 50% shooting from the field overall.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS
The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros are 3-2 on the season after defeating Montana State-Billings and before falling to Alaska Anchorage during Thanksgiving break. Michael Chavers is tops on the squad with 13.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Gabriel Hicks is adding 11.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest. East Bay defeated Dominguez Hills twice last season.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE L.A.
The Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles enter the matchup against the Pioneers with a 4-2 mark on the year after falling to Northwest Nazarene before opening conference play with a victory over Stanislaus State. Devin Means leads the Golden Eagles with 14.0 points and 2.8 assists per game. Fard Muhammad is chipping in 10.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per match.