HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team will complete their 2018-19 regular season with a pair of roads contests against Cal State San Marcos and UC San Diego.
 
East Bay is currently sitting first in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 21-5 mark on the season with a 16-4 record in league play after narrowly defeating Monterey Bay, 80-75 on Senior Day. Cal State East Bay finished the regular season with a 12-2 mark at home and are one current five game win streak, their longest of the season so far.
 
The Pioneers have already clinched a home game in the quarterfinals of the CCAA tournament. CSUEB will 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.  
 
The Pioneers notched the program's first 20-win season since 1999-00 with a one-point win over Sonoma State last Friday. They enter the final three regular season contests clinging to first place in the CCAA by one game, looking to hang on and secure their first-ever CCAA championship.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
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.
 
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.
 
PIONEER POINTS
After reaching double digits just once in the first seven games of the season, Evan Wardlow has now scored in double figures in 16 of the last 18 games, while averaging 5.1 rebounds per game in league play as well. Wardlow is scoring 13.3 points per game in CCAA play thus far, tops on the team and 11th in the league.
 
Nai Carlisle is the 15th leading scorer in the CCAA during league games, averaging 12.8 points per game. The Indiana native has been incredibly efficient this season, shooting 52 percent from the field and 48 percent from three-point range.
 
Senior Juwan Anderson entered the Pioneer record books as the all-time assist leader in program history, reaching a career total of 402 in less than three seasons to break the previous record of 349 that has stood since 2010. He is tied for the conference lead in assists per game with 5.6 (141) and continues to rank first in assist-turnover ratio (2.2). He's also shooting 86.9 percent from the foul line, which is second in the league. Anderson has made 86 of 99 shots from the foul line this season.
 
Two weeks ago Anderson dished out 16 assists against SF State to break the single-game school record. The senior has one more number in his sights. Pioneer Hall of Famer Michael Harris's single-season assist record of 150 has stood for more than 30 years.
 
Ant Navarrete is leading the Pioneers in rebounding and second in field goal percentage. Navarrete is fifth in the league with 7.2 rebounds per contest and second in the CCAA shooting 53 percent from the field. He is averaging 12.8 points per game after scoring in double figures in 14 of the last 18 games.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
The Cal State San Marcos Cougars enter the matchup against East Bay with a 7-19 mark on the season with a 4-16 record in conference action after falling to SF State before defeating Sonoma State last week. Khalil Fuller is leading the Cougars with 13.6 points and 8.0 rebounds on the season. Darae Elliot is adding 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds for San Marcos.
 
SCOUTING UC SAN DIEGO
The UC San Diego Tritons come into the contest against the Pioneers with the CCAA regular season championship on the line. UCSD is sitting at 20-7 on the year with a 15-5 showing in league play after back-to-back wins over SF State and Sonoma State over the weekend. Chris Hansen is tops on the Tritons with 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per outing. Christian Bayne is chipping in 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for UC San Diego.