Game Highlights  |  Postgame Interview

HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team was victorious in its first-ever California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament game Tuesday night. The No. 3 seed Pioneers outlasted No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills by a final score of 68-54 in front of a fantastic crowd at Pioneer Gymnasium.

East Bay's magical season continues at least one more game as the Pioneers improve to 22-7 overall, the program's highest win total since 1998-99. The victory advances them to the semifinal round where they will be matched up with the No. 2 seed, UC San Diego. That game is set to tip-off at 5:35 p.m. in Pioneer Gym, which will play host to the final two rounds of both the men's and women's tournaments.

The Pioneers turned in a dominant defensive effort to win their third game over Cal State Dominguez Hills in as many tries this season. They won the rebounding battle narrowly and held the Toros to just 28 percent shooting for the game. The visitors went just 6-for-26 from three-point range as East Bay slowly pulled away in the second half. 

The game was extremely tight in the early-going, however. The teams traded baskets for nearly 12 minutes before the Pioneers finally made a run, which Nai Carlisle punctuated with a crowd-pleasing dunk on a fast break. Carlisle had the hot hand in the first half, scoring 15 of his game-high 21 points before the break.

East Bay led by just five at halftime, but they immediately took control of the game early in the second half. They rattled off a 17-8 run midway through the period to extend their advantage to 17 points, led by senior Juwan Anderson who scored 12 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes.

The Toros went into a full court press with their season on the line and were successful in forcing a few turnovers to cut into their deficit. However, CSUDH simply couldn't hit enough enough shots to complete the comeback and never got closer than nine points. The Pioneers then took care of business at the free throw line to stretch their lead back out in the final two minutes.

East Bay shot 42 percent from the field and they out-scored Dominguez 28-14 in the paint, allowing them to overcome a poor shooting performance from long distance (1-for-14). 

Junior Ant Navarrete was the game's leading rebounder and notched his team-high eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards. 

The Pioneers are two wins away from their first CCAA championship and now have two days to prepare for UC San Diego, the team to which they just lost on Saturday in the regular season finale.