Only 14 games into the season, the CSU East Bay men’s basketball team finds themselves at a record of 3-5 in the CCAA and 6-8 overall while they try to stay in striking distance of a playoff spot.

First year Head Coach Gus Argenal is happy with his team despite the sub-500 record and thinks his team is playing the right way.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve been pleased with is the way we’ve been playing, the passion we are playing with, how much energy we bring each night and the attitude of the team has really solidified itself,” said Argenal. “That’s the thing I’m excited about is that we know we can compete in the CCAA and we are fighting every night. I am really excited about the group and what they can accomplish.”

Through the first 14 games, the Pioneers have a solid home record at 5-2 but have yet to win a game on the road, going 0-4 in the difficult CCAA while most recently having to face nationally ranked 9th team, Cal State San Bernardino.

“This is why the league is so fun because you get to really go compete in some great places against really good teams and if you want to be a contender in this league you have to go away and steal games on the road,” said Argenal. “We know that we have to do everything better on the road, take care of the ball better, rebound the ball better, play harder and play with more passion. We are really excited about a chance and opportunity to compete against such high quality opponents.”

Through the season the Pioneers have been one of the strongest and most prolific scoring teams in the CCAA. Led by guards Nick Grieves and Gabe Kindred, the Pioneers have shot the most threes in the conference with 120 made threes in the season which has helped them average 77.4 points a game, good for third in the conference.

“Our guys focus on their shooting, it’s a big part of what we do,” said Argenal. “Hopefully that allows us to get to the rim more; it allows us to have more lanes to drive. One thing I feel like we are doing a really good job of is taking good shots. We aren’t forcing threes; we aren’t taking crazy threes. Everything is feet set, squared up and we are stepping into our shots.”

One of the biggest reasons for the success in shooting has been the play of senior guard Gabe Kindred. Kindred averaged 18.9 points a game, and ranks fourth in the CCAA. But his play goes far beyond just scoring.

“We have a couple leaders but he is definitely a leader on this team with his emotion, his passion, his dedication,” said Argenal. “He is the heart of the team. He works hard everyday in practice and in the games; he leaves it all out on the floor every night.  He defends, he shoots, he scores, he does everything.”

When asked about the work ethic that Kindred and the other players have been playing with, he was quick to attribute it to their want to win and their head coach.

“Guys just want to win,” said Kindred. “[Argenal] cares a lot about winning, wanting us to compete and work hard. We don’t want to let him down or ourselves down…[Argenal] cares so when you have a coach that really cares for you, you want to bring the same thing everyday.”

The Pioneers will look for the first road win of the season on Friday as they face the 10-2 Chico State Wildcats before the Stanislaus State on Saturday.

Argenal thinks his team will continue to get stronger and stronger as the season continues.

“We are coming into our own, just knowing who we are on a day-to-day basis, who could do what offensively and how these guys are going to get things done from game-to-game,” said Argenal. “I think the biggest thing is that the guys have a mindset that we are coming out and we’re going to show what we’ve been doing and how hard we’ve been working and put a good product on the floor every time out.”