LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team saw all of a 19-point lead get away, but still managed to come away with a victory.
 
The Golden Eagles took a 44-25 lead in the opening seconds of the second half, but had to erase a two-point deficit later before posting a tougher-than-expected 68-62 win over Bristol Sunday in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (4-4) climbed back to the .500 mark after its second straight victory.
 
Bristol (3-10), which was playing its fourth game of the week and third against California Collegiate Athletic Association competition, was plenty energized in the second half when the Bears threw a major scare into the Golden Eagles. The Bears went on a 26-5 run over a 10-minute span to take a 51-49 lead with 9:43 remaining.
 
Cal State L.A. responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead and kept the advantage down the stretch.
 
Joel Brokenbrough had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the way, while Justin Snavely had 11 points and David Hall had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
 
Johnny Earl had a game-high 18 points to lead Bristol, while Tade Keshishyan had 15 points.
 
Cal State L.A. had a 42-25 halftime lead, but was outscored, 37-26, in the second half.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 46.0 percent for the game (23-of-50), but was just 3-of-16 from 3-point range and 19-of-30 from the free-throw line. Bristol shot 41.3 percent (19-of-46), but was better than that from 3-point range, where the Bears knocked down 9-of-18. Bristol was also 15-of-19 from the free-throw line.
 
Cal State L.A. had a slim 33-31 rebounding edge and committed 18 turnovers to 21 for Bristol.
 
The Golden Eagles scored the first six points of the game – four of them by Xavier Jones – and led throughout the first half. A layup by Snavely gave the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead of the game, 22-12, and a 3-pointer by Snavley gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the first half, 40-22. A jumper by Brokenbrough gave Cal State L.A. a 42-25 halftime edge.
 
Then, after a layup by Hall to open the second half, the Golden Eagles had a 44-25 lead and a free throw by Dushon Carter kept the lead at 45-27, with 18 minutes to play.
 
That's when Bristol caught fire and went on a 15-2 run to get within 47-42 after a 3-pointer by Keshishyan. A layup by Hall stopped the run, but only briefly, and Bristol scored nine straight points to take a 51-49 lead with 9:43 to go.
 
A basket by Brokenbrough got the Golden Eagles even one minute later and a layup by Joshua Munzon with an assist from LaBradford Franklin put the Golden Eagles back ahead, 53-51. Brokenbrough scored on a jumper to boost the lead to 59-53 before a 3-pointer by Earl made it 59-56 with three minutes to go.
 
Brokenbrough scored again to get the lead to five points and a steal by Munzon led to a basket by Dushon Carter to give the Golden Eagles a 63-58 lead in the final minute. The Golden Eagles led by at least four points the rest of the way.
 
Cal State L.A. will now be off until resuming CCAA play with a Jan. 1 game at Cal State San Bernardino.