CSUEB men’s basketball loses fourth in a row
January 11, 2017
After starting the season off with 6 straight wins, the California State East Bay men’s basketball team has struggled in their past few games of conference play. The Pioneers played their seventh and eighth game of conference play against California State San Marcos and UC San Diego over the weekend, but did not get the results they hoped for.
On Thursday, the team faced a solid San Marcos (10-5, 5-3). The game was an exciting yet frustrating one that went into double overtime. In the first half, the Pioneers took a 14 point lead and it looked like the team was going to dominate. East Bay controlled the half, outscoring San Marcos 41-27.
The Cougars had a wake-up call in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 52-38. The efforts put in by the Cougars in the second half, resulted in a comeback and tied game, which led to overtime.
“We were giving up easy points by fouling and ultimately it put us in a negative situation,” senior guard Jalen Richard said.
The first overtime went back and forth, with constant free throws. Neither team could get a significant lead, and they were forced into a second overtime.
Senior forward Micah Dunhour kept the Pioneers in the game in the second overtime, scoring 8 of the Pioneers 15 points. Unfortunately, that was not enough to help East Bay get the win. The Pioneers fell and lost the game by 1 point. The game was tied 105-105 with 26 seconds left, then Cougars senior guard Kygar Tyson hit a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left and gave the Cougars the 108-105 lead.
East Bay then fouled, which put the Cougars up 109-105. With 1 second left, Richard hit a 3-pointer, but they were not enough to seal the game.
“If we stuck to the game plan of limiting fouls, keeping composure and focusing on defense, we would have had a much better outcome,” said Dunhour, who had 31 points and 13 rebounds on the night, including 14 points in overtime.
Richard added 26 points on the night, shooting 50 percent, with 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and freshman guard Druce Asah had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Sophomore guard Juwan Anderson had a team high 8 assists.
Saturday night versus the top team in CCAA and 15th ranked nationally, UC San Diego (13-2, 8-0) was another close, but low scoring game. The contest was back and forth and the two teams went into halftime tied at 22-22. Unfortunately, San Diego got the best of the Pioneers in the second half and outscored them 30-25, which gave them the 52-47 win and East Bay’s fourth straight loss.
“We have to play 40 minutes of complete basketball,” senior guard Pierre Carter said. “San Diego is a top team, but we can’t play great in the first half and come off as relaxed in the second. That has been our downfall. Second half we didn’t have as much fire and it cost us.”
Carter had 14 points off the bench, going 5 for 7 shooting, his third straight game with 10 or more points. Richard also put up double figures with 18 points.
The Tritons’ main control was in the paint as they outscored the Pioneers 26-16 down low and out rebounded them 29-20. East Bay also only made 3 out of 9 foul shots, which was also a deciding factor in the game.
The Pioneers will face Cal State Monterey Bay in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at home.
