HAYWARD, Calif. — The Pioneers have been eagerly awaiting conference play, and it showed on Thursday night.

The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team opened California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with an emphatic home victory over Cal State LA, 79-49, Thursday evening at Pioneer Gym.

CSUEB (4-1, 1-0 CCAA) Jumped out to a 30-15 halftime advantage and didn't slow down in the second half. The Pioneers outscored the Golden Eagles by 15 after intermission, 49-34, to earn its third-straight win over CSULA (3-2, 0-1).

"We wanted to come out aggressive to get our first CCAA win," said junior forward Zafir Williams. "We wanted to show everybody else in the league that we're here."

Williams finished with a game-high 26 points with 11 rebounds and three steals, while sophomore point guard Jesse Galloway scored 12 points and junior guard Nai Carlisle added 10 points with three assists and two steals.

Galloway also had a strong game defensively, holding reigning CCAA Player of the Week Shacquille Dawkins to 13 points on just 5-of-15 shooting.

The Pioneers shot 50 percent from the field and 46 percent (7-of-15) from 3-point range. Cal State East Bay out rebounded Cal State LA 41-32 and forced the Golden Eagles into 14 turnovers.

CSUEB hits the road to resume conference play on Saturday, Nov. 23, when the Pioneers play at Chico State beginning at 7:30 p.m.