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Cougars Hold Off Gators in Penultimate Home Game, 76-61

Thu, Feb 19, 2026

SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (13-11, 10-9 CCAA) earned a 76-61 CCAA victory over San Francisco State (3-23, 2-17 CCAA) in its penultimate home game on Thursday night at The Sports Center.

TOP PERFORMERS
Keavie Love – 13 points | 7 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal
Dexter Stratton – 12 points | 12 rebounds | 2 assists
Chris Carrillo – 11 points | 1 rebound | 1 assist | 3 steals | 1 block

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • After a back-and-forth start, Chris Carrillo's early three and free throws put CSUSM up 7-4 at the 15:57 mark.
  • A burst from the bench turned the tide: Max Tengan drilled a three and Jaylin Leslie converted a fastbreak layup for a 19-13 lead with 11:49 left in the first half.
  • Remington Rofer scored on consecutive drives to stretch the advantage to 23-16 before the Gators rallied within one.
  • CSUSM closed the half with a Nate Simon three and a Carrillo layup to lead 38-32. CSUSM shot 62.5% (15-of-24) from the field to San Francisco State's 36.8% (14-of-38).
  • Keavie Love keyed the second-half separation by scoring 11 of the Cougars' first 13 points and pushing CSUSM's lead to 51-38 with 12 minutes to play.
  • The Gators cut it to 57-51 on a Parsa Hadjighasemi three with 7:26 remaining, but Tengan answered from deep and Micah Boone followed with a triple for a 63-51 lead at the 6:27 mark.
  • CSUSM took its largest lead of the game with two made free throws at 74-56 with 1:34 remaining.
     

QUICK HITS

  • CSUSM shot 58.3% from the field (28-of-48) while holding SFSU to 38.2% (26-of-68).
  • The Cougars hit 46.7% from three (7-of-15) compared to the Gators' 23.1% (6-of-26).
  • CSUSM won the rebounding battle, 35-31, including a 13-6 edge on the offensive glass.
  • Bench production favored CSUSM, 34-30.
  • Points in the paint tilted to CSUSM at 36-32, and the Cougars also led in fast-break points, 10-2.
  • Turnovers were 12-8 (CSUSM-SFSU), with both teams scoring 12 points off giveaways.
  • Dexter Stratton tallied his fourth double-double of the year and tied his career high for rebounds with 12.
  • With the win, CSUSM swept the season series against SF State – its third sweep against a CCAA opponent this season (Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State LA).
  • CSUSM now sits in a three-way tie with Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State San Bernardino for fourth in the CCAA standings with three games to go. The Cougars have a one-game lead over seventh-place Cal Poly Pomona and are one game behind third-place Cal Poly Humboldt.
     

UP NEXT
CSUSM will play its final home game of the season on Saturday as its hosts No. 2 Cal State East Bay (25-0, 19-0 CCAA) at 3 p.m. in The Sports Center. Prior to the game, the Cougars will honor seniors Micah Boone, Keavie Love, Aaron Ragen and Dexter Stratton.