LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team had another impressive rally in it Tuesday night, but the Golden Eagles fell just short against Cal State San Marcos.
The Golden Eagles sliced an 18-point deficit to just two points with three minutes to play, but that was as close as they could get in a tough 83-78 loss to the Cougars in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game in University Gym. Cal State LA (7-5, 3-4 CCAA) shot 62 percent in the second half, but was unable to fully erase a 43-31 halftime deficit.
Devin Means led five Golden Eagles in double figures with 18 points, connecting on 6-of-8 attempts from 3-point range.
Garrett Carter had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, while
Jihad Woods had 11 points and six rebounds.
Sequan Walker and
Kenneth Cyprian scored 10 points each.
Bear Henderson had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead Cal State San Marcos (8-2, 3-1 CCAA), while Joe Boyd had scored 16 points and 19 rebounds and Brian Wright had 15 points and six assists. Josh Spiers had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and Ethan Alvano had 11 points.
Cal State LA shot 42 percent for the game (29-of-69) and was a sizzling 62.1 percent in the second half. The Golden Eagles were 11-of-31 from 3-point range. Cal State San Marcos shot 52.4 percent (33-of-63) and was 7-of-13 from 3-point range.
Cal State San Marcos had a 43-34 rebounding edge and Cal State LA forced 20 turnovers while committing 15.
The Golden Eagles got their only lead of the game at 5-4 after a tip-in by
Jalyn Pennie, but Cal State San Marcos surged ahead and led by as many as 14 points before settling for a 43-31 lead.
The Golden Eagles trailed 64-46 with 11:27 to go before staging their big comeback. Walker hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the rally, but the Golden Eagles didn't close to within single digits until a layup by Woods and back-to-back 3-pointers from Means and
Elliott Smith made it 73-69. A pair of free throws by Cyprian cut the deficit to 73-71 with three minutes to go. A layup by Carter made it 78-75 with 32 seconds remaining, but the Cougars hit five of six from the free-throw line to extend their winning margin.
Cal State LA will return to action on Dec. 29 with a road game at Chico State.
