SAN DIEGO -- Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team was unable to snap its current cold snap against a talented Point Loma team.
The Golden Eagles struggled for the third consecutive game and dropped a 77-51 decision to the Sea Lions Wednesday night in San Diego. Cal State L.A. (2-4) lost its third straight game and never led against Point Loma. The Sea Lions scored the first nine points of the game and steadily increased its lead after one sustained Cal State L.A. run trimmed the deficit to two points in the first half.
David Hall had a team-high 15 points for the Golden Eagles, while
Aaron Alston had 10 points and six rebounds.
Justin Snavely had nine points and
Xavier Jones had eight points and eight rebounds.
Junior Morgan had 16 points and nine rebounds for Point Loma (6-1). Marek Klasser had 15 points and Hayden Lescault and Sam Okhotin had 11 points each.
Cal State L.A. shot 36.8 percent for the game (21-of-57), but hit just one of its eight 3-point attempts. Point Loma shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) and made 8-of-19 from behind the arc. Point Loma also had a huge edge at the free-throw line, where the Sea Lions were 19-of-25, while Cal State L.A. was just 8-of-12.
Cal State L.A. had a 36-34 rebounding edge, but also had 19 turnovers to 14 for Point Loma. The Golden Eagles were also whistled for 25 fouls to 13 for Point Loma.
The Golden Eagles fell into an early 9-0 hole and never could get even. Cal State L.A.'s best stretch of the game came midway through the opening half when the Golden Eagles sliced a 15-6 deficit to just 18-16. Back-to-back baskets by Alston, a basket by Jones and baskets by Hall and Alston pulled the Golden Eagles to within two points with 7:30 left in the half. Point Loma, though, responded with a 10-0 run that was finally stopped by a Hall basket four minutes later.
The Golden Eagles trailed 34-20 at halftime and found themselves down by 20 points in a hurry when Okhotin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half.
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday with a home game against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday at 5 p.m.
