Game Highlights
HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team held off visiting Humboldt State on Thursday night to earn an 88-78 victory at Pioneer Gymnasium.
The Pioneers remain unbeaten at home for the season, improving to 8-0. They are now exactly halfway through their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule with a 9-2 record and sit just a half-game behind first place UC San Diego.
The program had never previously won more than eight conference games in any season since joining the CCAA in 2009. And at 14-3 overall, this team already has more wins than any Pioneer squad has managed for a full season in the last decade.
Speaking of firsts, this is also the first time the Pioneers have beaten Humboldt State in five years, and they did it in impressive fashion. East Bay never trailed in the game after jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead. They were hot from three-point range early in the contest, getting contributions from everyone in the lineup. They led 19-5 after a triple by
Patrick Marr, made it 22-7 after another three by
Ant Navarrete, and grabbed their biggest advantage of the game at 30-13 after
Nai Carlisle knocked one down from beyond the arc.
Navarrete carried CSUEB's offense early in the game and kept his hot hand going throughout the night. The junior scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the first half and finished 10-for-16 from the field.
The talented HSU squad finally found their groove a bit and chipped away at their deficit over the last eight minutes of the first half. This culminated with a 12-4 run by the Jacks to end the half, sending the teams to intermission with the Pioneers leading by nine.
The visitors went on yet another 12-4 to open the second half, cutting CSUEB's lead to just one after a jumper by reigning CCAA Player of the Week Justin Everett. The Jacks appeared to have all the momentum, but it was shot-lived thanks to big plays by
John Duff and
Juwan Anderson. Anderson found Duff under the basket in transition on the next possession, and the redshirt freshman slammed it home. Duff then blocked Everett's layup on the other end and got the ball ahead to Carlisle, who passed it to Anderson trailing, and the senior buried a three. After it briefly looked like Humboldt was about to take control, one minute later the Pioneer were back up six.
East Bay never looked back after that and took care of business at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the double-digit victory. They shot 50 percent from the field as a team and out-rebounded the Jacks 41-34 overall.
Five different Pioneers reached double figures in scoring, led by Navarrete. Carlisle added 15, Anderson and Marr scored 12 each, and
Evan Wardlow finished with 11.
Trent Warren contributed nine points off the bench, going 2-for-3 from long distance.
Navarrete, Wardlow, and Marr tallied seven rebounds apiece to tie for the team lead. Anderson paced the squad with five assists, and Wardlow added four to go along with a team-high three steals.
Next up, the Pioneers return to the court Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. for another huge conference game against Chico State, looking to avenge a 59-45 loss to the Wildcats back in December. CSUEB hasn't beaten Chico since February of 2011.
