Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to post a big non-conference victory over California Baptist.
The Golden Eagles shrugged off a slow start and posted a 75-56 win over the Lancers Saturday night in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (4-0) led by only three points at halftime, but outscored California Baptist, 37-21, in the second half.
Carl Hoffman had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead three Golden Eagles in double figures.
Ryan Wetherell had 16 points and
Quinton Watkins had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Luke Evans had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for California Baptist (2-1), which is a member of the Pacific West Conference. Aleksander Milovic and Justus Von Wright had 10 points each.
Cal State L.A. shot 47.5 percent for the game (28-of-59), including 52 percent in the second half (13-of-25). California Baptist shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) for the game and just 32.1 percent (9-of-28) in the second half.
The Golden Eagles enjoyed a big 45-28 rebounding edge and committed only eight turnovers. California Baptist had just 10 turnovers.
Jordan Richard had nine points and five rebounds, while
Leland Jones had seven points and eight rebounds. Cal State L.A. was 7-of-15 from behind the 3-point arc, including a 4-of-4 performance from Wetherell. Watkins,
Jibreel Nasir and
Marc Wilson also had 3-pointers.
The Golden Eagles were 5-of-8 from behind the arc in the second half while expanding their halftime advantage.
Cal State L.A. trailed for much of the first half, but broke a 31-31 tie with two straight baskets by Hoffman and took the lead for good. A 3-pointer by Wetherell made it 38-33 in the final minute, but Taylor Statham scored on an offensive rebound to make it 38-35 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles got a quick basket by
Chris Robinson and a 3-pointer by Watkins to open up an eight-point lead in the opening minute of the second half. A pair of free throws by Watkins gave Cal State L.A. its first double-digit lead, 53-43, with 15 minutes to play.
California Baptist trimmed the deficit to seven points, 58-51, following a layup by Von Wright, but Cal State L.A. responded with a 10-1 run over the next seven minutes to put the game out of reach. Hoffman scored on a layup to start the run, which was briefly interrupted by a free throw by Connor Isley that made it 60-52. The Golden Eagles then got a dunk from Richard off a pass from Watkins, a free throw by Hoffman, layups by Hoffman and Jones and a free throw by Richard to take a 68-52 lead with 4:15 left.
Cal State L.A. led by at least 12 points the rest of the way.
Cal State L.A. will resume California Collegiate Athletic Association play next Friday night with a game against Cal State San Bernardino.
