SAN FRANCISCO – Cal State East Bay men's basketball extended its current win streak to seven games on Sunday to close out the 2023 calendar year, defeating San Francisco State in CCAA action, 77-68 at the Main Gym on the SF State campus.
 

GAME SUMMARY

In the first half, the Pioneers started with a 12-6 run capped by a Grady Lewis jumper with 15:40 left in the half. The Gators answered with a 17-10 run, capped by a Jonah Roth three-pointer with 7:57 left, to take a 23-22 lead with 7:57 left in the half. The lead grew to four points on two occasions; the second occasion at 31-27 with 4:24 left in the half. Cal State East Bay finished the first half with a 14-5 run to take a 41-36 lead at halftime.
 
The Gators would start the second half on a 6-1 spurt, capped by a Jailen Daniel-Dalton layup, to tie the game at 41-41 with 18:00 left. Both teams found themselves tied at 45-45 at the 16:15 mark. Then, Daeshawn Eaton made a three-pointer to break the tie and start a stretch of 13 unanswered points for a 58-45 lead with 13:08 remaining in the second half. Although SF State climbed back to close the deficit to six points with less than two minutes remaining, the Pioneers finished with a 77-68 win on New Year's Eve.
 

NOTABLE STATS

• Lewis had a game-high 21 points to lead the Pioneers, going 10-for-12 from the floor and making one free throw.
• Also scoring in double figures for CSUEB were Dimitrios Klonaras with 15 points, Tyree Campbell with 14 and Eaton with 12.
• Through Sunday, Klonaras is averaging 16.2 points-per-game, which leads the CCAA.
• Campbell and Eaton each had eight rebounds on Sunday.
• Defensively, Klonaras had three blocks and three steals, as he leads the CCAA in steals with 30 on the season through Sunday's action.
• Leading the Gators in scoring was Roth with 16 points. 
• The Pioneers shot 39.7 percent from the field to the Gators' 38.5 percent.
• Cal State East Bay had a 42-35 rebounding edge.
• The seven-game win streak for the Pioneers is the longest for the program since joining the CCAA in 2009.

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Bryan Rooney following the Pioneers' seventh straight win on Sunday:
"I was very proud of our group tonight. San Francisco State is always a tough team for us to play and our resolve to answer their run to start the second half was huge.
 
"We are excited to get back to practice tomorrow and play at home with two very important games this coming week."
 

RECORDS

(RV) Cal State East Bay: 9-2, 5-0 CCAA
SF State: 7-6, 1-4 CCAA
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

To start 2024, the Pioneers will return home to start a four game CCAA homestand. The first of the next four at home includes a matchup on Thursday, January 4 against Cal Poly Humboldt. Tipoff from Pioneer Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m.