HAYWARD, Calif. — The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 30, with a pivotal home showdown against No. 18 Chico State, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday's contest will be
streamed livealong with a
live radio broadcast, and
live statswill also be available.
Chico State (15-3, 10-2 CCAA) enters Thursday's game as one of the hottest teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), as the Wildcats have won nine-consecutive games and stand in second place in the CCAA standings.
CSUEB (11-9, 7-7) split two road games last week, using a late surge to knock off Humboldt State, 85-74, on Jan. 23, before falling short in a tight contest at Stanislaus State, 82-78, on Jan. 25.
Junior guard
Nai Carlisle had a big week for the Pioneers, scoring a season-high 22 points along with nine rebounds and five assists in the victory at Humboldt State. The West Lafayette, Ind., native followed it up with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists at Stanislaus State.
In addition, junior forward and the conference's leading scorer,
Zafir Williams, recorded 16 points with eight rebounds at Stanislaus State.
Cal State East Bay currently stands sixth in the CCAA standings, and are one game ahead of Cal State San Marcos and 1.5 games ahead of both Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
All three teams still loom on CSUEB's schedule, as the top eight qualify for the CCAA Tournament beginning March 3.
PIONEER POINTS
- Cal State East Bay split two meetings with Chico State last season, and dropped this year's lone meeting against the Wildcats on Nov. 23
- Cal State East Bay ranks fourth in the CCAA in points allowed (70.5) and is sixth in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.343)
- CSUEB is fourth turnover margin (3.10), fourth in steals per game (7.9) and sixth in offensive rebounds per contest (9.6)
- Junior forward Zafir Williams leads the CCAA in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game
- Williams ranks third in the CCAA in rebounding with 8.1 per contest, is fifth in field-goal percentage (.498) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.807)
- Junior forward Ant Navarrete ranks seventh in the conference with 6.5 rebounds per game
- Junior guard Nai Carlisle is second on the team with 12.0 points per game, and ranks 13thin the CCAA in assists per game (2.9)
