ROHNERT PARK, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team opened their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road trip with by outlasting the Sonoma State Seawolves 63-58 in The Wolves on Thursday night, December 6.
 
With the victory the Pioneers remain unbeaten in conference action at 4-0 and are off the the program's best start of the CCAA era at 8-1 overall.
 
East Bay controlled the competitive game as they took a 17-point lead early in the second half of play. But the Pioneers would rely on their stout defense down the stretch as they convert a shot in the final 6:15 of the ballgame. Cal State East Bay was able to rattle off 20 points from 21 turnovers from the home team.
 
The Pioneers were red hot from the field in the first half shooting 54.1% from the field including 60% from three-point range. Sophomore Nai Carlisle (West Lafayette, Ind.) helped deliver most of the first half damage as 15 of his 16 points came before the intermission. Carlisle went 6-for-9 from the field while knocking down 2-of-3 shot from beyond the arc to go along with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
 
Despite shooting just 27% from the floor in the second half CSUEB was able to convert 9-of-12 free throws to help seal the game. Senior Evan Wardlow (Lake View Terrance, Calif.) went a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe as he notched a game-high 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field. He grabbed five rebounds and collected steal in 30 minutes on the court. Wardlow has now tallied back-to-back double figure scoring games.
 
Senior Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) also compiled double digits on the contest with 10 points and four rebounds. Marr netted seven of his eight foul shots while dishing out two assists and a steal.
 
East Bay narrowly edge out Sonoma State 30-29 on the boards as the home team made up for the deficit by outscoring the Pioneers 30-16 in paint points. Junior Ant Navarrete (San Leandro, Calif.) led the way in rebounding for CSUEB with eight to match his eight points.
 
Senior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) turned in a solid overall performance in the victory. Anderson scored six points, while tying a season-best mark of seven assists to go along with six rebounds and three steals. He also played a team-high 34 minutes.
 
The Pioneers will continue their road trip with a visit to Chico State on Saturday evening, December 8 in Art Acker Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.