Box Score
HAYWARD -- Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team came up big down the stretch and finally put away a pesky Cal State East Bay squad.
The Golden Eagles fought back from an eight-point second-half deficit and outlasted the Pioneers, 70-64, Thursday night in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game in Hayward. Cal State L.A. (12-8, 8-7 CCAA) snapped a three-game losing streak with the win.
Cal State L.A. shot 45 percent for the game, but missed all seven of its 3-point tries. The Golden Eagles limited Cal State East Bay to 41.7 percent shooting and owned a tight 34-32 rebounding edge. Cal State L.A. also forced 18 Cal State East Bay turnovers while committing only 11.
The Golden Eagles also made 22-of-32 free-throw tries, including 15-of-21 in the second half. Cal State East Bay was 21-of-27 from the line, including 11-of-13 in the second period.
Chris Fields and
Dwayne Jones scored 14 points each for the Golden Eagles, while
Carl Hoffman had 13 points and
Chris Robinson had nine points.
Mark Samuels led Cal State East Bay (5-14, 2-12 CCAA) with a game-high 24 points. He was the only Pioneer to reach double figures in scoring.
The Golden Eagles took an early 8-4 lead, but Cal State East Bay opened up a seven-point lead, 25-18, after a basket by Samuels with 4:49 remaining in the half. Cal State L.A. went on a 7-0 run to tie the game, only to see Cal State East Bay get a pair of 3-pointers by Melvin Flemings to atke a 31-26 lead. Cal State L.A. responded by scoring the last seven points of the half to take a 33-31 halftime lead. A free throw by Robinson and baskets by Fields and
Mark Dorsey tied the game and a late basket by Hoffman gave the Golden Eagles the halftime advantage.
Cal State East Bay started the second half strongly and took its biggest lead of the game, 49-41, with 11:46 to go. The Pioneers still led by eight points, 53-45, with nine minutes to go before the Golden Eagles got back in it.
Baskets by
Leland Jones and Fields and a pair of free throws by Dwayne Jones made it 53-51. A three-point play by Fields gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good, 59-58, with 4:32 to go.
Leland Jones scored the next five points to help Cal State L.A. open up a 64-58 lead with 1:30 to go.
Hoffman hit a pair of free throw,
Dwayne Jones made a basket, Robinson hit a pair of free throws and
Dwayne Jones hit a free throw to preserve the lead down the stretch.
Cal State L.A. will return to action with another road game, this one at UC San Diego, on Saturday in La Jolla.