Last week, CSU East Bay celebrated 50 years of Pioneer Athletics to compliment the 2012 Homecoming festivities.
In a week that saw a parade, crowning of the new East Bay king and queen and “The Battle of The Bay” games played by both men’s and women’s basketball teams against San Francisco State, the final game of Homecoming week on Saturday night against Cal Poly Pomona had a climatic ending.
The game resulted in a final second defeat for the Pioneers by a score of 51-52.
Despite the Pioneers leading for the majority of the game, Pomona grabbed the lead with less than a minute to go in the game as the Broncos’ DeRonn Scott sank the game-winning basket with 48 seconds remaining.
The Pioneers had possession of the game as a last-second buzzer shot off the hands of Roshun Wynne with East Bay trailing by a point, couldn’t find the net, which sealed the Pioneers’ fate.
Pomona, who were league champions two seasons ago, entered Saturday night’s game already having clinched a playoff berth in the California College Athletic Association (CCAA).
“It was a very tough loss against a good team tonight; the want was there but the points weren’t,” said head coach Will Biggs.
“I feel the guys played better this weekend than they have been lately and I think a big part of that was our homecoming support this week. Our homecomings have just been fantastic. The promotions, the spirit and the enthusiasm I think contributed to the high energy that we played with tonight.”
East Bay was riding on full momentum playing in front of a homecoming crowd that included the return of the first ever basketball team in the university’s history from the 1961-1962 season, and other CSUEB alumni representing all sports and athletic years since the inception of Pioneer Athletics.
Mark Samuels, who is the Pioneers’ leading scorer for the year and who led the Pioneers scoring attack with 19 points in the game, expressed his excitement in being in the presence of the 1961-62 basketball team that paved the way for the future of East Bay basketball.
“It’s great to have our alumni come out and show support,” said Samuels. “They had their time here and now they’re coming back to show love for the current team and I think it’s good for the program to have had them here.”
With a promising start to a season that saw the Pioneers take four of their first six games in conference play, CSUEB has dropped nine out of 10 games, including a 71-78 upset by San Francisco State on Friday night, Feb. 10, in The Battle of the Bay as part of Homecoming week.
The Pioneers had not been on the winning side of the scoreboard previous to their Tuesday night victory over Monterey Bay since Jan. 13, where they defeated UC San Diego in an overtime win.
Although the team is in the midst of their roughest stretch of the season, they’re seeking to turn things around for the final four games of the basketball campaign.
“The guys are working really hard. We can’t just blow a game off to pout about what happened this weekend,” said Biggs. “As a group we have to collect ourselves and keep breathing.”
