HAYWARD, Calif. – With Senior Day taking place on Saturday inside Pioneer Gymnasium, the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team defeated Cal State San Marcos, 75-70 in CCAA action to keep pace in the chase to qualify for the CCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers jumped out to a quick 14-2 lead. The lead though evaporated at the 7:02 mark when CSUSM tied the game at 21-21. The Cougars took a lead in the first half, but with 1:31 left in the first half,
Tim Andreolli made a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 32-30 lead that would be taken into halftime.
To open the second half, CSUSM scored the first 13 points and led 43-32. That lead was maintained by the Cougars until the 4:16 mark whe
Garrett Pascoe made a 3-pointer to even the game at 60-60. After a defensive rebound by
Payden White on the next possession,
Chris James made a 3-pointer to give the lead back to the Pioneers.
Although CSUSM would tie the game again,
Grady Lewis broke the tie with a layup for a 65-63 lead at the 3:05 mark. From that basket, the Pioneers led the rest of the way for a 75-70 victory.
Prior to the game, Andreolli was honored during a senior ceremony as he played in his final home game for the Pioneers.
- Led by White's 18 points, four Pioneers reached double-figures in scoring. In addition to White, Andreolli scored 15 points, Pascoe scored 14 and Lewis scored 11.
- A lot of the scoring was from beyond the arc for the Pioneers. White, Andreolli, Pascoe and James each had three 3-pointers on Saturday.
- Andreolli, Lewis and Dimitrios Klonaras had eight rebounds each.
- Defensiely, andreolli had a block and two steals.
- After Saturday's CCAA action, the Pioneers sit in a three way tie for sixth place at 9-11 in conference play with Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona. The team that exclusively holds sixth place through record or tiebreaker receives a bid for the CCAA Tournament.
Cal State East Bay head coach
Bryan Rooney following Saturday's win:
"Extremely proud of our team's fight tonight. San Marcos is an NCAA Tournament team and they had us on the ropes. Credit to our guys for sticking together and it was awesome seeing Tim's leadership down the stretch. He had a very special Senior Night!"
Cal State East Bay: 11-15, 9-11 CCAA
Cal State San Marcos: 16-9, 15-5 CCAA
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UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY |
With the home schedule concluded for the Pioneers, two road games remain in the regular season with postseason implications. The first of the two games takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Cal State Monterey Bay. On January 14, the Pioneers fell short against CSUMB, 70-67.
