CHICO, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team dropped their road contest, 70-59 to Chico State in Art Acker Gymnasium on Saturday night, February 3. The Wildcats swept the season series over the Pioneers after picking up a win on December 16 in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
With their eighth consecutive loss the Pioneers fall to 8-16 on the season with a 4-14 mark in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
 
Sophomore guard Druce Asah (Tracy, Calif.) led all scorers with 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting from the field. Asah added four rebounds, two assists and two steal. He is averaging 12.8 points per game in conference action after three straight double figure scoring games.
 
East Bay was held to just 40.4% (23-for-57) shooting for the game by the stiff Wildcat defense. The Pioneers were cold from beyond the three-point arc going 22.2% (4-for-18) for the game. Chico State didn't fair much better as they only shot 40.3% (25-for-62) from the field and 30% (6-for-20) from three-point range.
 
Both teams faired great from the free throw line shooting above 80% for the evening. The Pioneers were narrowly edge out in scoring in the painted area, 32-30 but the Wildcats dominated the East Bay on the board, 39-29 for the game. The Chico State reserves outscored the CSUEB bench, 19-12 for the game.
 
Senior forward Jelani Mitchell (Pasadena, Calif.) received his second consecutive start and notched 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field with five rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Pioneers.  Mitchell went 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in 28 minutes on the court.
 
Senior center Kyle Frakes grabbed a team best nine rebounds to go along with eight points, two assists and a block. Frakes went 4-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-6 from the foul line.
 
The Pioneer defense forced 11 turnovers and scored 11 points off those turnovers. East Bay also put in 13 second chance points and four fast break points as well.
 
Junior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) chipped in seven points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 30 minutes of action. Deiondre Bird (Portland, Ore.) led the East Bay reserves with four points of 2-for-2 shooting and a rebound. Keshawn Bruner added three points, a rebound, a block and an assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
 
The Pioneers will return to Pioneer Gymnasium with home contests against Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills.