HAYWARD, Calif., -- After splitting a pair of tough road games, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team will return home for California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matches against Humboldt State on Thursday, January 17 and Chico State on Saturday, January 19.
 
The Pioneers continued what has been the best start for the Pioneers as members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 13-3 mark. Their 8-2 conference record is the program's best ever through ten CCAA games, and it's the first time they've won 12 out of 15 games at any point during the CCAA era. East Bay is also 7-0 in home games this season. 
 
For their success, East Bay remained in the No. 6 in this week's D2SIDA West Region Media Poll, the program's highest ranking since the poll was created. And for the first time in the CCAA era, the Pioneers received votes in last week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II national top-25 poll.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball dropped a tough California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road matchup, 68-56 to Cal Poly Pomona Thursday night, January 10 inside Kellogg Gym.
 
It was a tale of two halves for East Bay who enter the intermission with a 35-33 lead after shooting 48.1% from the field, including 44.4% from three-point range. Majority of the damage was done by senior point guard Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) for scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the first half. Anderson went 5-for-7 in the opening half capped off by a 3-for-4 mark from beyond the three-point arc. He finished the game with 18 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 36 minutes of action.
 
Senior Evan Wardlow (Lake View Terrance, Calif.), reigning CSUEB Player of the Week, turned in another solid performance with 12 points and a career best five assists to lead the Pioneers. Wardlow added four rebounds and a steal on a team-high 37 minutes on the floor. He has now scored in double figures in seven consecutive contests.
 
Sophomore Nai Carlisle (Went Lafayette, Ind.) returned to the Pioneer lineup after missing a game and finished with eight points, two assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes. Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) added six points and two rebounds. Ant Navarrete (San Leandro, Calif.) lead the Pioneers with five rebounds to go along with his four points.
 
The Cal State East Men's Basketball program wrapped up their road trip by collecting a huge 82-79 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) victory over Cal State San Bernardino Saturday evening in Coussoulis Arena.
 
Senior Evan Wardlow (Lake View Terrance, Calif.) led all scores with 23 points while knocking down a career best five three-pointers. Wardlow, the reigning CSUEB Player of the Week shot 9-for-14 from the field with two steals, two assists and a rebound on a team high 36 minutes. He has now scored in double figures in eight consecutive conference contests.
 
Senior Juwan Anderson (Oakland, Calif.) tallied 15 points, five rebounds and a steal on 4-for-9 shooting from the field in 33 minutes. Anderson dished out a season-best eight assists while knocking down five of his six foul shots, including three clutch free throws to help seal in the game.
 
The Pioneers connected on a season-best 12 shots from three-point range as they shot 42.9% from beyond the arc for the contest, including 50% in the second half. The East Bay defense forced San Bernardino into 17 turnovers, scoring 18 points off Coyotes miscues.
 
Sophomore Nai Carlisle (West Lafayette, Ind.) compiled 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting accuracy from the floor, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Carlisle added three assists and two steals in 32 minutes.
 
Junior Ant Navarrete (San Leandro, Calif.) paced the Pioneers with seven rebounds to go along with 11 points. Navarrete added an assist and a steal through 25 minutes of action. Patrick Marr (Clayton, Calif.) chipped in seven points and five rebounds with two assists and a steal.
 
John Duff (Los Angeles, Calif.) turned in seven points and three rebounds to lead all East Bay reserves with 16 minutes of action.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Sophomore Nai Carlisle and senior Evan Wardlow both joined the Pioneers this season as transfers from Division I schools, and both have been crucial additions -- particularly in conference play.
 
After reaching double digits just once in the first seven games of the season, Wardlow has now scored in double figures in eight straight games, while averaging 4.9 rebounds per game during that span as well. Wardlow is scoring 14.0 points per game in CCAA play thus far, best on the team and ninth in the league. He has now been named back-to-back CSUEB Player of the Week after scoring 21 points, going 8-for-12 from the field. He also led the team with seven rebounds, dished out four assists, and went 2-for-3 from long distance. Followed by a season-high 23 points, going 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-6 from long distance, his best career effort from three-point range. For the week, he averaged 17.5 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor and going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc.
 
Carlisle is the 13th-leading scorer in the CCAA during league games, averaging 13.3 points per game. The Indiana native has been incredibly efficient this season, shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 46 percent from long distance.
 
Senior Juwan Anderson second in the conference in assist-turnover ratio (2.1) and continues to rank second among CCAA players in assists per game with 4.2 (63). He's also shooting 90.8 percent from the foul line, which is first in the league and tied for 20th in the nation. Anderson has made 59 of 65 shots from the foul line this season.
 
Ant Navarrete is leading the Pioneers in rebounding and field goal percentage. Navarrete is 10th in the league with 6.7 rebounds per contest and sixth in the CCAA shooting 50.7 percent from the field. He is averaging 11.1 points per game after scoring in double figures in six of the last nine games while also being tied for third on the team with 19 steals.
 
SCOUTING HUMBOLDT STATE
The Humboldt State Lumberjacks come into the contest against the Pioneers with a 13-5 overall mark on the season including a 7-3 record in CCAA action after wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. Justin Everett leads the Lumberjacks with 16.7 points and 6.6 rebounds. Jackson Strong is adding 11.9 points and 2.3 rebounds for Humboldt State.
 
SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Chico State Wildcats head into their matchup with the Pioneers with a 5-6 record on the season with a 4-6 mark in league play after back-to-back losses to Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State San Marcos. Malik Duff is leading Chico State with 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Isaiah Brooks is chipping in 10.5 points and 3.8 assists per game for the Wildcats.