The California State East Bay men’s basketball team began California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference play last weekend against California State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State.

The men started off with confidence as their record stood at 6-1 with a six game win streak. On Friday against Monterey Bay (2-6 overall, 0-2 conference), that streak continued as the Pioneers dominated the Otters and won the game 95-74.

The Pioneers had one of their best shooting nights in the past four years as they shot 61.9 percent from the field, and 53.3 percent from the three-point line.

“Everyone was contributing,” senior point guard Jalen Richard said. “From the jump we were ready. This was the best game we have had collectively. We shot the ball well and forced Monterey Bay to make heavily contested shots, which worked out in our favor.”

East Bay dominated all over the floor as they outscored the Otters in the paint 38-32, and 24-12 in turnovers. In the first half the Pioneers only led by 6, but in the second half the men exploded and scored 53 points, which not only gave them the 95-74 win, but also their biggest win of the season.

Senior Micah Dunhour had another outstanding game as he scored 26 points on 10-for-13 FG, 8-8 FT and also had 6 rebounds. Freshman guard Druce Asah added 15 points on 6-9 shooting and Richard had a double-digit game for the third game in a row, scoring 13 points. Consistently off the bench, senior guard Pierre Carter added 15 points and four rebounds on 6-9 FG and 3-4 from behind the arc.

“I believe coming off the bench is a big spark because my teammates know what they are going to get from me every time I step on the floor,” Carter said. “I stay aggressive on offense and I do not settle, and also I try and play great defense. I take great pride in that.”

The win against Monterey Bay extended the Pioneers streak to seven, but unfortunately the undefeated across-the-Bay rival, San Francisco State (8-0, 2-0) ended that streak.

East Bay came out strong against the Gators as they led the first half 38-30 and shot over 60 percent.

But in the second half, San Francisco went on an early run and never looked back.

“Unlike the first half we were prepared and playing to win like any other game, being aggressive and attacking defensively and it was working for us,” Richard said. “But in the second half we got timid and were playing not to lose, instead of to win, which caused many careless turnovers and gave them the leverage to attack in transition.”

The Gators scored 50 points on the Pioneers in the second half and made it difficult for them to come back, just what East Bay had done to Monterey in the previous game.

The Pioneers shooting percentage increased by 30 percent while the Gators percentage fell.

San Francisco went on to win 80-65, extending their CCAA record to 2-0 and putting the Pioneers at 1-1.

“We know that this league is tough and we cannot let down like that for a second,” said Carter. “We settled too much with their zone defense instead of being aggressive and that can’t happen. We have to continue to stay aggressive despite the lead we have because teams are always going to continue to battle back, you must physically put them away.”

East Bay will take a short pause in conference play as they play Santa Clara (3-6) in Santa Clara on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. for an exhibition game.