The California State University, East Bay Men’s Basketball team began their 2019-20 season with an 81-52 exhibition loss to Mountain West Conference basketball powerhouse, University of Nevada, Reno Wolfpack last Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.
Junior, Zafir Williams led the Pioneers with 21 points to go along with 4 rebounds. Former Mountain West Conference player for San Jose State, Nai Carlisle contributed 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for the Pioneers.
UNR was led by junior, Jalen Harris and Freshman Zane Meeks. Harris scored 21 points to go along with 8 rebounds, while Meeks notched a double-double in his first outing as a member of the team with ten points and 14 rebounds.
The Pioneers’ offense appeared to struggle against the consistent defense of UNR throughout the game shooting just 32.2% from the field over the course of the game. The Wolfpack shot a respectable 43.1% against the Pioneer defense.
The Pioneers’ offense did improve throughout the course of the game. The Pioneers shot 42.86% from the floor in the second half after just a 15.38% clip in the first half.
The Pioneers were unable to convert their chances at the free-throw line throughout the game, shooting 47.1% from the charity strike for the game.
Senior guard, Trent Warren, says the team knows that the biggest building factor for the team is on the offensive end.
“Our team has come a long way since the beginning. Our defense is our backbone. We just have to keep trusting each other at both ends of the court,” said Warren in an interview.
Although it was a tough defeat, Warren believes that playing against a high-level team such as Nevada is great preparation for the coming season.
“Playing against such a talented team like Nevada will really help us down the track,” said Warren. “The fact we were only down seven at with less than ten minutes to go shows us that if we bring our best every possession, we can compete with any team we face.”
The Pioneers have time to work on their game before they head to the Western Oregon Conference Challenge in Oakland, Calif. where they will face familiar faces in Holy Names University and Notre Dame De Namur University on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9.