SAN MARCOS -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team showed its trademark resiliency on Saturday, but saw a promising second-half rally stall in a California Collegiate Athletic Association loss to Cal State San Marcos.

The Golden Eagles' sliced a 13-point second-half deficit down to a single point, but couldn't quite get over the hump in a 76-65 loss to the Cougars at the Sports Center. Cal State LA (2-4, 0-1 CCAA) trailed by just two points with eight minutes to go, but the Cougars (5-0, 1-0 CCAA) responded by scoring the next seven points and the Golden Eagles were unable to get any closer.

Adrease Jackson had 17 points and seven rebounds for Cal State LA, while Elisha Duplechan had 11 points and five rebounds. 

Greg Milton III had 18 points to lead Cal State San Marcos, while Jayce McCain had 17 points and Blake Seitz had an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Alexander Sokol had eight points for the Golden Eagles, while Lyrik Shreiner had seven points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

Cal State LA was 25-of-62 from the floor (40.3 percent) and hit 8-of-24 from 3-point range. Cal State San Marcos was 27-of-66 from the floor (40.9 percent) and hit 8-of-25 from 3-point range. Cal State LA was just 7-of-13 from the free-throw line, while Cal State San Marcos was 14-of-16. Cal State LA had a 43-38 rebounding edge and committed 16 turnovers to 12 for the Cougars.

A pair of freshmen led the Golden Eagles to an early lead. A layup by Dominic Escobar put the Golden Eagles ahead, 12-11, and three consecutive layups by Shane Bell gave the Golden Eagles an 18-15 lead. A pair of free throws by Sokol gave the Golden Eagles their last lead of the game, 24-23, before the Cougars went on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good.

Cal State LA trailed 40-31 at halftime and then surrendered the first four points of the second half to trail by 13. The Golden Eagles still trailed, 52-40, before going on an 11-0 run to get to within one. Jackson and Shreiner hit 3-pointers to start the run, Duplechan continued it with a basket and Trevor Thompson hit a 3-pointer to make it 52-51. Cal State San Marcos scored the next six points, but a 3-pointer by Sokol and a layup by Duplechan cut the margin to 58-56 with eight minutes left.

Once again, the Cougars answered, this time with a 7-0 response, and the Golden Eagles couldn't recover.

Cal State LA will return to action on Thursday with a home game against Cal State East Bay.