POMONA, Calif. – Coming off a loss on Friday, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team responded with a CCAA win on Sunday afternoon, 68-58 over (RV) Cal Poly Pomona.
Close for much of the first half, the Pioneers trailed by three, 17-14 with less than five minutes remaining in the half. A dunk by
Grady Lewis at the 4:38 mark started a swing that went in favor of Cal State East Bay. The dunk started a 9-0 run to put the Pioneers ahead, 23-17. Although the Broncos scored the next three points on free throws, a layup by
Kevin Ebiriekwe in the closing seconds of the half gave the Pioneers a 25-20 lead going into halftime.
Cal Poly Pomona climbed back into the game during the second half. The comeback was highlighted by a 10-0 run that put the Broncos ahead 43-35 with 11:27 remaining.
However, the Pioneers scored the next eight points to tie the game at 43-43, capped off by a free throw from
Julian Lopez.
At the 6:08 mark, Cal State East Bay trailed 48-43. A 3-pointer from
Dimitrios Klonaras started a 15-0 run that put CSUEB ahead 58-48 with 2:26 left in regulation.
Although the game was even at 10-10 down the stretch, critical free throws helped the Pioneers maintain their lead as Cal State East Bay's final eight points of the game were from the free throw line. CSUEB completed the 68-58 win on Sunday.
- Klonaras was the leading scorer for the Pioneers with 16 points, going 4-for-10 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. He has reached double-figures in scoring in 10 of 11 games played this season.
- Also scoring in double-figures for CSUEB on Sunday were Lewis, Ebiriekwe and Chris James with 15, 14 and 12 points respectively.
- Lewis and Ebiriekwe had seven rebounds each.
- Defensively, Klonaras had three steals and Lewis had two blocks.
- Cal State East Bay defeated the Broncos on the road for the second straight season.
- Bam Johnson led the Broncos in scoring with 14 points.
Cal State East Bay head coach
Bryan Rooney following Sunday's win:
"This was a tough, gutsy win against an excellent team tonight. I am extremely proud of our togetherness, especially down the stretch. Guys were really invested in one another and the team."
Cal State East Bay: 4-7, 2-3 CCAA
(RV) Cal Poly Pomona: 6-3, 3-1 CCAA
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UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY |
Cal State East Bay starts 2023 with a CCAA home game against Cal State Dominguez Hills. On Sunday, January 1, the Pioneers host the Toros for a 3 p.m. tipoff from Pioneer Gymnasium. To start CCAA action for the 2022-23 season, Cal State East Bay defeated CSUDH, 75-71 on November 26 in Carson.
