Box Score

LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team saw another comeback bid fall short Saturday night, this time against Cal State San Bernardino in a big California Collegiate Athletic Association game in the Eagles Nest.

 

The Golden Eagles sliced a 14-point halftime lead down to one point with less than 12 minutes to play, but the Coyotes regrouped and pulled away down the stretch to beat Cal State L.A., 67-55, Saturday in the Eagles Nest.

 

Cal State L.A. (13-12, 9-11 CCAA) dropped its sixth straight home game and remains in a battle for a CCAA Championship Tournament spot. The Golden Eagles are currently tied for seventh with Sonoma State, one game back of fifth-place Chico State and San Francisco State and two games ahead of ninth-place UC San Diego with two games remaining.

 

The top eight teams qualify for the conference tourney and the Golden Eagles need one more victory or a UC San Diego loss to clinch a spot.

 

The Golden Eagles had a miserable time getting their offense going on Saturday against an aggressive Cal State San Bernardino defense. The Golden Eagles shot just 29.1 percent (16-of-55) for the game and just 25 percent (7-of-28) in the second half. The Golden Eagles were just 3-of-16 from behind the 3-point arc.

Cal State L.A. held a 42-38 rebounding edge and did a decent job handling the ball against the Coyote defense, committing 12 turnovers to nine for Cal State San Bernardino.

 

The Coyotes shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) for the game and knocked down 5-of-18 tries from 3-point range.

 

Carl Hoffman had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Dwayne Jones had 12 points and Chris Fields had 11 points and five rebounds.

 

Corey Caston had 13 points and seven rebounds to lead a balanced attack by Cal State San Bernardino. Devon Davis had 11 points, while Aaron Hill and Greg Williams scored 10 points each.

 

For the second straight night, the Golden Eagles found themselves battling back from a sizeable first-half deficit. Cal State L.A. held an early 8-6 lead after a basket by Nuno Furtado, but Cal State San Bernardino scored the next six points and never trailed.

 

The Coyotes scored the final six points of the first half on back-to-back 3-pointers by Ryan Kinney and Gaston to take a 42-28 halftime lead.

 

The Golden Eagles scored the first four points of the second half before Cal State San Bernardino boosted its lead back up to 46-34 with 16 minutes to go. Cal State L.A. then went on its best run of the night, an 11-0 spurt to slice the lead to one point, 46-45, with 11:45 to go. A rare four-point play by Dwayne Jones started the run and was quickly followed by a 3-pointer by Fields. Hoffman scored inside to make it 46-43 and a jumper by Chris Robinson completed the run.

 

A free throw by Hill stopped the run and Cal State San Bernardino kept the Golden Eagles at bay the rest of the way. A layup by Robinson and a free throw by Dorsey made it a four-point game, 52-48, with five minutes to play, but the Coyotes responded with eight straight points to put the game away.

 

Cal State L.A. will return to action on Thursday with a home game against Cal State Stanislaus.