SAN BERNARDINO -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team battled down to the final second in an intense contest with defending California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Cal State San Bernardino Thursday night in Coussoulis Arena.

The Golden Eagles led for much of the game and had a pair of possessions to win the game late, but the Coyotes held off the Golden Eagles, 73-70, in front of their home crowd. No. 25 Cal State LA (14-4, 9-3 CCAA) split the regular-season series with Cal State San Bernardino (14-4, 9-3 CCAA).

The Golden Eagles and Coyotes are tied for second, one game back of Cal State Dominguez Hills, which won in overtime at Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday to take over sole possession of first place. Chico State and Cal State East Bay are one game back of the Golden Eagles and Coyotes.

Eche Okeke and Corey Cofield had 13 points each to lead the Golden Eagles, while A'Jahni Levias had 11 points.

Christopher Mitchell had 24 points lead to lead four Coyotes in double figures. Sedrick Altman had 18 points, while Robby Robinson and LeAndrew Knight had 13 points each.

Dominic Escobar had nine points for the Golden Eagles, while Shane Bell had eight points.

Cal State LA had a 22-0 edge in bench points as Levias, Isaiah Fields, Kris Krause, and Jaden Lazo all had productive games for the Golden Eagles.

Cal State LA shot 49 percent for the game (24-of-49) and was 8-of-18 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were also 14-of-17 from the free-throw line. Cal State San Bernardino shot 48.2 percent for the game (27-of-56) and was 5-of-12 from 3-point range.  The Coyotes were 14-of-23 from the free-throw line. The Golden Eagles faced a tall obstacle to overcome because the Coyotes had a 42-20 rebounding edge, including a 19-3 edge in offensive rebounds that resulted in an 18-2 edge in second-chance points.

The Golden Eagles committed only 11 turnovers to 16 for the Coyotes.

The Golden Eagles led for most of a tightly-contested first half and had a 30-24 edge after a 3-pointer by Fields. After the Coyotes rallied back to tie the game, a pair of free throws by Levias gave the Golden Eagles a 39-37 halftime lead.

Layups by Escobar and Cofield and a pair of free throws by Cofield gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead at 47-39 with 17:40 to go. The Coyotes then went on a 9-0 run to take the lead before a 3-pointer by Bell regained the lead for the Golden Eagles with 13:45 to go.

The Golden Eagles then faced deficits as large as six points late in the game before making a determined push that almost won it. A pair of free throws by Okeke cut it to 71-67 with 3:16 remaining, a free throw by Cofield made it 71-68 with 2:08 to go and a pair of free throws by Deuce Walker made it 71-70 with 1:55 left.

Cal State LA then forced a turnover when Walker drew an offensive foul, but had a layup attempt blocked with 47 seconds remaining. After a steal by Escobar got the Golden Eagles the ball back with 25 seconds remaining, a 3-pointer by Bell just missed with four seconds left, and a last-second offensive rebound and put-back attempt by Okeke also wouldn't go. Walker had to foul with less than a second to go and the Coyotes hit two free throws to account for the final margin.

Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday with a road game at Cal Poly Pomona.