SAN MARCOS, Calif. – On Saturday afternoon, Cal State East Bay men's basketball snapped a four-game losing streak with a 68-65 CCAA win over Cal State San Marcos.
 

GAME SUMMARY

The first half was a battle between both teams, with neither the Pioneers or Cougars leading by more than four points. The game was even at 27-27 in the closing seconds until Kevin Ebiriekwe made a steal with four seconds left, then drove more than half the length of the court alone to the basket to give the Pioneers a 29-27 lead at the half.
 
Cal State East Bay led by as many as 11 points in the second half, including its earliest lead of that much at the 10:55 mark when Ebiriekwe made a 3-pointer for a 49-38 lead.
 
CSUSM climbed back into the game, and trailed by just one point, 63-62, at the 1:04 mark on a dunk by Uriah Foster. Tyree Campbell answered with a layup, and after the Cougars answered back, Campbell made a pair of free throws for a 67-64 lead with 13.4 seconds remaining. However, the Cougars got one of the points back on a free throw, as they trailed 67-65.
 
The Cougars looked to tie the game, but with three seconds a left, a layup was missed and Ebiriekwe made a rebound and was fouled with 0.7 seconds. He made the second free throw for a 68-65 lead.
 
A long inbound by the Cougars was contested on the left sideline and went out of bounds with 0.4 seconds left, but they retained possession in the front court. CSUSM looked for a game-tying 3-pointer, but a shot in the left corner was not released before the clock expired and the Pioneers prevailed with a 68-65 win.

 

NOTABLE STATS

• Leading the Pioneers in scoring was Grady Lewis with 17 points, going 8-for-11 from the floor and made one free throw. Lewis finished with a second straight double-double after he had a career-high 15 rebounds.
• Also scoring in double figures for CSUEB were Dimitrios Klonaras with 14 points and Ebiriekwe with 10.
• Ebiriekwe and Lewis had a block and a steal each.
• Leading all scorers in the game was CSUSM's Edwyn Collins with 30 points.
• The Pioneers shot 40.4 percent from the floor to CSUSM's 43.5 percent.
• Cal State East Bay had a 44-30 rebounding edge.

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Bryan Rooney following Saturday's win to wrap up the road trip:
"Huge win tonight – I loved how our guys banded together the last two days. Every game in our conference is a battle and I am proud of how we fought tonight to earn the victory."
 

RECORDS

Cal State East Bay: 11-6, 7-4 CCAA
Cal State San Marcos: 7-10, 6-5 CCAA
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

The Pioneers play a pair of home games next week, starting with a matchup against Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday, January 25. Tipoff from Pioneer Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m. On December 2, the Pioneers defeated the Otters, 82-76 in overtime.