SAN MARCOS, Calif. – After a strong first half, things went cold in the second half for the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (1-14, 1-8 CCAA) as it fell 64-56 to Cal Poly Humboldt (8-7, 4-6 CCAA) on Saturday at The Sports Center.
TOP PERFORMERS
Keavie Love – 12 points | 6 rebounds | 3 steals | 2 assists
Veljko Muntilak – 8 points | 7 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 blocks
Dexter Stratton – 8 points | 6 rebounds | 1 assist
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Down 14-12 with 12:10 left in the first half, a 16-0 run by the Cougars capped by a Kyelin King layup at 7:50 put CSUSM up 28-14.
- The Lumberjacks answered with an 18-6 run to cut the deficit to 34-32 with 2:22 remaining in the first half.
- A Will Harris 3-pointer followed by a Muntilak layup and a Love free throw made it 40-32 at the halftime break.
- CSUSM shot 46.9% (15-of-32) from the field in the first half while Humboldt came in at 41.4% (12-of-29). The Cougars also went 4-of-10 (40%) from 3-point land while the Lumberjacks were 3-of-9 (33.3%).
- The Cougars had twice as many first-half rebounds at 24-12, earning 12 each on the offensive and defensive side.
- After a Harris 3-pointer to begin the second half made it a 43-32 game, Humboldt began chipping away at the CSUSM lead before taking the lead for good on a LaCount jumper to make it 47-46 with 9:04 remaining.
- The Lumberjacks made it an 11-point game on a Kyle Frelow layup to make it 60-49 with 3:38 to go.
- CSUSM narrowed the gap to six at 60-54 with a 5-0 run that saw Keavie Love make the first of two free throws with 1:13 on the clock, but the Cougars came no closer to the Humboldt lead.
- The Cougars went cold from the field in the second half, shooting just 12% (3-of-25) while the Lumberjacks improved over their first-half total at 52.2% (12-of-23).
FAST BREAKS
- CSUSM finished the game shooting 31.6% (18-of-57) while Humboldt came in at 46.2% (24-of-52).
- The Cougars heavily won the battle of the boards with a season-high 45 rebounds 29 with 21 of them coming on the offensive side while the Lumberjacks tallied just 29 overall.
- The Lumberjacks had the edge in assists (8-6) and steal (11-7) while committing fewer turnovers (16-21).
- Both teams tallied six blocks. This was CSUSM's third six-block game of the year as Mikey Aikhionbare led the Cougars with three.
- Humboldt's win snapped a five-game winning streak by CSUSM against the Lumberjacks and was their first against the Cougars since Feb. 1, 2020.
- CSUSM still has a 10-6 lead in the all-time series and is now tied at 4-4 when playing at home.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will begin a four-game road trip at Cal State Monterey Bay (5-10, 2-8 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Seaside.