SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – It took more than a regular 40 minutes of action, but in two overtimes, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team finished its non-conference part of the 2022-23 schedule with a 75-71 win over Dominican (Calif.) on Wednesday at Conlan Center.
 

GAME SUMMARY

 
The Pioneers played a strong first half, leading by as much as 14 points, and holding the Penguins to only 17 points, and taking a 28-17 lead into halftime. Even though Cal State East Bay only made 12 field goals in the first 20 minutes of action, DU was limited to only seven.
 
Early in the second half, on separate layups by Grady Lewis, Cal State East Bay led by as many as 15 points, including a lead of 34-19 at the 18:04 mark.
 
Dominican however, climbed back, as the Pioneers did not score a field goal for a stretch of nearly six minutes. Julian Lopez made a 3-pointer at the 12:07 mark, and the Pioneers ended the stretch without a field goal for a 39-32 lead.
 
While Dominican made a series of runs, Cal State East Bay maintained a lead until 1:58 was left in regulation, as the Penguins tied the game at 52-52 on a 3-pointer by Marcus McCutchen.
 
With leads trading in the remainder of regulation, the Pioneers led 56-54 with 11 seconds left in the second half. Dominican tied the game at 56-56 in the closing seconds on a layup by McCutchen.
 
Only 22 seconds remained in the first overtime, when the Penguins had a 65-62 lead. But with nine seconds left, Lewis drew a foul and made a layup. He tied the game at 65-65 on the free throw to follow. Each team missed baskets in the closing seconds of the first overtime, as a second overtime was needed.
 
Lewis accounted for the CSUEB's first six points of the second overtime, and a pair of free throws, and a layup by Dimitrios Klonaras off a steal put the game away. Although Dominican got a 3-pointer at the buzzer, it wasn't enough, as the Pioneers fought hard for a 75-71 win.
 

NOTABLE STATS

 

• Lewis went 10-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-3 in free throws to lead all scorers with 23 points. His 10 rebounds in addition to his points earned him a double-double.
• Also picking up a double-double for the Pioneers was Tim Andreolli with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
• Klonaras finished with 16 points.
• Defensively, Andreolli had five steals and a block.
• Cal State East Bay finished as a team 28-for-71 from the floor and Dominican went 23-for-69 in field goals.
• The Pioneers outrebounded the Penguins, 50-47.
• For Dominican, McCutchen scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds for a double-double and Garrett Siebels scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds.

 

POSTGAME QUOTES

 
Cal State East Bay head coach Bryan Rooney on Wednesday's game:
"What a gutsy win by our guys. There were numerous times down the stretch of regulation and both overtimes when we could have given in and fortunately didn't. Super proud of our team for sticking together."
 
Rooney added:
"Our preseason has been challenging but we feel we have grown these last couple weeks heading into conference."
 

RECORDS

 
Cal State East Bay: 2-4
Dominican (Calif.): 2-3
 

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