Complete Box Score

SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State San Bernardino gave up 11 straight points and the lead early in the second half but regained its composure in time to post a 69-57 CCAA men's confernce victory over a determined Cal State L.A. team Friday night before 847 fans in Coussoulis Arena.

The win helped the Coyotes take sole possession of first place in the conference, thanks to Cal State Bakersfield's 65-59 win over Cal Poly Pomona. The Coyotes, ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 16 in the nation, are now 12-3 overall and 8-2 in the CCAA while Pomona and Bakersfield are 7-3.

Cal State L.A., which upset Humboldt State last week, is now 6-9 overall, 3-7 in the conference.

The Coyotes host the Roadrunners at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night.

Senior guard Prentice Harris had 13 points, three assists and three steals to lead a balanced Coyotes attack while senior Chet Johnson came off the bench to hit all five of his field goals including a rim-rattling dunk off an alley-opp pass from Lance Ortiz to finish with 12 points.

Cal State L.A.'s Jontae Vinson, the CCAA's leading scorer, equaled his season average with 21 points and a game-high seven rebounds. He was just five of 12 (all five field goals came in the first half) from the field but hit 11 of 12 free throws as the Golden Eagles went to the line 34 times, making 25. Overall, CSULA shot just 36 percent and were just six of 19 in the second half.

The Coyotes took a 37-29 lead to the locker room at halftime after giving up a 9-4 advantage as the Golden Eagles went ahead briefly 12-11 on a layup by Ralph Turner. CSUSB built up a 21-16 advantage4 on a layup by Jason Gilzene but L.A. came back to tie at 26-all

with 4:25 left on a pair of free throws by Vinson.

After it was knotted again at 28-all, CSUSB outscored L.A. 9-1 over the final three minutes of the half to take a nine-point lead to the locker room.

L.A. then ran off 11 straight points to start the second half to take 40-37 lead on two more foul shots by Vinson. The Golden Eagles last lead was 43-42, again on two foul shots by Vinson with 12:03 left in the game.

The Coyotes ran off 10 straight points for a 52-43 lead with 8:44 left on a layup by Marlon Pierce. Johnson's dunk with 4:05 left made it 60-50 and the Coyotes eventually led by 17 at 69-52 with 1:42 left on a free throw by Pierce.

Junior David Reichel started for only the third time this year and responded with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Geoffrey Clayton came off the bench to score nine as well with three steals. Senior center Ivan Johnson had just six points and five rebounds in 17 minutes and fouled out for the fourth time this season.

Cal State L.A. will play at Cal Poly Pomona Saturday night