HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team prevailed over visiting Cal State Monterey Bay in a tight game on Saturday afternoon, winning its fifth straight game by a final score of 80-75.

The Pioneers improve to 21-5 overall and still cling to a one-game lead in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings at 16-4 heading into the final week before playoffs.

This was the team's final home game of the regular season, and the win gives them a 12-2 record at Pioneer Gymnasium, easily their best of the CCAA era. The Pioneers also completed a season sweep of the Otters to earn another point in the yearlong "Battle of the Bays" competition between the two schools.

Prior to the game, Cal State East Bay celebrated "Senior Day" with a brief ceremony to honor the 2018-19 seniors -- Juwan Anderson, Deiondre Bird, Patrick Marr, and Evan Wardlow. All four ended up contributing significantly to CSUEB's narrow win over the Otters, but none more so than Marr.

Just a week after notching his first career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds last Thursday, Marr eclipsed both those totals against CSUMB. The fifth-year senior turned in perhaps his best performance in a Pioneer uniform, going 9-for-11 from the field and posting season highs with 22 points and 14 rebounds. 

But despite Marr's impressive effort, the Otters gave the Pioneers all they could handle. The visitors shot 54 percent in the first half, led nearly the entire way, and went into the break with a 37-35 advantage. 

CSUMB continued its momentum in the second half and stretched its lead out to 11 points with 10:57 remaining before East Bay finally started to chip away. After getting off to a slow start offensively, they started to get more shots to fall down the stretch. Wardlow scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime, and Ant Navarrete scored nine of his 11 during that same span -- highlighted by a long three-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 1:28 left that put a stamp on East Bay's comeback. 

Anderson added nine points, dished out 13 assists, and tallied three steals. It's the third time in his last six games the senior has reached double figures in assists. He now leads the CCAA with 141 for the season and sits just nine shy of matching the Pioneers' single-season program record.

Bird scored seven points on 3-for-5 shooting, while redshirt freshman John Duff added six on a 3-for-4 effort from the field. 

The Pioneers next head to Southern California with the goal of capturing their first-ever CCAA championship banner, but they have a tough test ahead of them with games at Cal State San Marcos on Thursday and UC San Diego on Saturday.