LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team completed an impressive week with another high-scoring victory.
The Golden Eagles shot 53.7 percent from the floor and beat Cal State East Bay, 84-67, Saturday night in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game in University Gym. Cal State LA (4-1, 2-0 CCAA) raced out to a 43-33 halftime lead and then held off a determined second-half charge from the Pioneers. Cal State East Bay (1-3, 1-1 CCAA) got as close as 59-56 with 8:44 to go, but the Golden Eagles weathered the storm and closed out the game on a 25-11 run that was punctuated by a 3-pointer in the final minute by
Robby Kaiser.
Jihad Woods led five Golden Eagles in double figures with 18 points and four rebounds, while
Khalil Williams had 13 points and hit all three of his 3-point attempts.
Jalyn Pennie had 13 points and three rebounds, while
Garrett Carter and
Devin Means had 10 points each. Carter, who broke a program record with eight 3-pointers on Friday as part of a career-high 28-point night, had seven assists in Saturday's contest.
Kyle Frakes and Druce Asah had 14 points each for the Pioneers.
Elliott Smith had eight points and three rebounds and
Sean Estes had six points after hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
Cal State LA was 29-of-54 from the floor and hit nearly half (12) of its 25 attempts from 3-point range. The Pioneers were 22-of-45 from the floor (48.9 percent) and 6-of-15 from 3-point range. The Pioneers hit 17-of-23 from the free-throw line, while the Golden Eagles were 14-of-26.
Cal State LA had a 30-28 rebounding edge and forced 20 turnovers while committing 11.
The Golden Eagles trailed by five points, 18-13, eight minutes into the game, but tied the game at 22-22 after a three-point play by Smith and then took the lead on a 3-pointer by Williams. That was part of a 13-2 run that gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. A 3-pointer by Estes gave the Golden Eagles a 43-30 lead late in the half and completed a 30-12 run that covered nearly 11 minutes. Cal State LA settled for a 43-33 halftime lead.
Cal State East Bay made things interesting in the second half, trimming a 48-33 deficit to a 52-48 margin with 12:42 left in the game. The lead dwindled to three points at 59-56, but a dunk by Pennie, free throws by Woods and Carter and a layup by Smith boosted the lead back to 15 points, 78-63, as part of a 19-7 surge.
Cal State LA will return to action on Tuesday with a non-conference game against Bethesda at 7:30 p.m.