Cal State East Bay opened its season in electrifying fashion Friday night, outlasting Fresno Pacific 75–71 in a fast-paced, physical battle at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers rode a balanced scoring attack led by Ramsey Huff and Tyree Campbell, who poured in 18 points apiece to fend off multiple second-half rallies by the visiting Sunbirds at the Pioneer Conference Challenge.
 
East Bay asserted itself early, shooting a blistering 55 percent in the first half while opening up an 11-point lead by halftime. Huff set the tone with a pair of early buckets and a three-pointer late in the half, while Campbell drilled two threes of his own and punctuated the surge with a fast-break layup following a steal. Amare Campbell added a burst off the bench, scoring five straight points late in the period to push the Pioneers' lead to 40–31 before two final free throws made it 42–31 at the break
 
The Pioneers pushed the margin to as many as 15 early in the second half but the Sunbirds refused to go away.  The visitors cut the deficit all the way down to 59-58 with just over seven minutes remaining.  However, every time the Sunbirds threatened, the Pioneers answered. Huff delivered a clutch mid-range jumper with then added a free throw to push the advantage back to four. Moments later, Terence Haywood hit arguably the biggest shot of the night, a deep three with 6:52 left that stretched the lead to 62–58.
 
Free throws proved decisive in the final minutes as Campbell calmly knocked down four in the last 3:5, including two after drawing a foul on a fast-break push to keep the Pioneers in front.  Josh Ijeh added two more from the line to extend the lead to 67–62, and although Fresno Pacific hit a pair of late threes, East Bay repeatedly protected the ball and converted at the stripe to maintain control. Campbell's steal-and-score with 57 seconds left effectively sealed it, pushing the lead back to six at 73–67.
 
Huff finished a near-perfect 7-for-8 from the field and added two steals, while Campbell's all-around effort included three made threes, five assists, and a team-high 18 points. Jaayden Bush added 11 points and four assists, and Haywood chipped in five points and 11 rebounds as East Bay won the battle on the glass 36–35. The Pioneers also capitalized on Fresno Pacific's mistakes, scoring 26 points off turnovers.
 
The Pioneers are back in action tomorrow night when they host Jessup for the final game of the Pioneer Conference Challenge at 7:30 pm.