SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Facing a pivotal set of games, the Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (10-15, 9-10 CCAA) will continue its five-game road trip this weekend by traveling to Cal State East Bay (16-9, 12-7 CCAA) for a 7:30 p.m. game on Thursday before heading across the bay to San Francisco State (15-12, 9-10 CCAA) for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM began the week with an 86-70 loss at then-No. 22 Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday. Mike Pope and Max Tengan each tallied 16 points while Edwyn Collins posted a double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 points.
• The Cougars then knocked off Cal State LA on Saturday as Charlie Henderson nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send CSUSM home with a 77-75 win while Edwyn Collins posted his fourth double-double of the year with 32 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

 
COUGAR FACTS

• In a three-way tie with Sonoma State and San Francisco State for sixth in the CCAA standings with three games remaining, the Cougars control their own fate and can finish as high as fifth.
• Collins continues to lead the CCAA with 17.4 points and 2.0 steals per game while dishing out the fourth-most assists per game at 3.2 and having the fourth-best assist/turnover ratio at 1.23.
• Mike Pope leads the conference with 2.48 3-pointers per game while making 62 in total.
• Charlie Henderson has the third-best field-goal percentage in the CCAA at 53.1% while also posting the third-most blocks per game (0.96) and total blocks (23).
• CSUSM has the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the conference at 1.12.
• The Cougars also rank second in assists per game at 13.7.
• With a turnover margin of 2.8, CSUSM ranks third in the CCAA and 31st in Division II.
• The Cougars are forcing the fourth-most turnovers in the league and rank 38th nationally at 15.08.
• CSUSM is committing the third-fewest turnovers per game in the CCAA at 12.2.

THURSDAY AT CAL STATE EAST BAY

• The Pioneers are coming off a perfect weekend at home as they secured a 78-65 win against Cal Poly Pomona last Thursday before earning a 64-59 victory against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.
• East Bay has already locked up a spot in the CCAA Tournament and can finish anywhere from second to fifth in the conference standings.
• CSUEB has the top field-goal percentage in the CCAA at 46.9%.
• The Pioneers have the fifth-best scoring offense in the conference at 73.9 points per game while having the sixth-best scoring defense at 69.0 points allowed per game.
• East Bay is coming up with the second-most steals per game in the league at 8.6 and ranks 26th nationally.
• Grady Lewis has the third-best field-goal percentage in Division II at 70.5% and is scoring the fourth-most points per game in the CCAA at 15.5. He's also the league's top shot blocker at 1.08 per game.
• The Pioneers posted a 68-65 win at CSUSM on Jan. 20.
• The Cougars will be looking for their first win against the Pioneers in Hayward since Jan. 11, 2018, having lost four in a row since then.
• CSUSM owns a 10-5 lead in the all-time series against CSUEB and is 3-4 when playing in Hayward.

ACROSS THE BAY AT SF STATE

• The Gators went 1-1 this past weekend, falling 64-54 at Cal State San Bernardino before earning a 60-52 win against Cal Poly Pomona.
• SF State is in the same boat as CSUSM and controls its own fate in the final three games of the regular season and can finish as high as fifth in the CCAA standings.
• SFSU has the second-best 3-point field-goal defense in the CCAA at 31.1% and ranks 28th nationally.
• The Gators are committing the most turnovers per game in the conference at 15.2.
• SF State has the fourth-best scoring defense in the CCAA at 67.8 points allowed per game, ranking 35th nationally. The Gators rank eighth in the conference for scoring offense at 69.3 points per game.
• Jonah Roth is the second-best shot blocker in the league at 1.04 per game while posting the most total blocks in the conference this season at 28.
• Jailen Daniel-Dalton is the lone Gator scoring double figures at 12.3 per game and averages the seventh-most boards in the league at 6.9.
• SF State won the first game of the season series against CSUSM on Jan. 18 in San Marcos as it left with a 69-67 win.
• The Gators and Cougars are tied at 3-3 when playing in San Francisco, but SF State has a slight lead in the all-time series at 8-6.

2023-24 OUTLOOK

• First-year head coach Nick Booker takes over the reins of the CSUSM men's basketball program after spending three seasons as an assistant at UC San Diego.
• The Cougars return six from last season's roster, including Edwyn Collins, Chris Howard, Bing Huang, Jermaine Rogers II, Jack Schultz and Donovan Watkins.
• CSUSM has six newcomers for 2023-24, including transfers Uriah Foster, Charlie Henderson, Teagen Hoard, Luc Krystkowiak and Mike Pope while welcoming true freshman Max Tengan.
• The Cougars' 30-game slate includes two road exhibitions to go along with 13 home games and 15 road games in the regular season.
• CSUSM was selected to finish seventh in the 2023-24 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE BOOKER FILE

• Nick Booker became the Cougars' third head coach in program history on June 5, 2023.
• Booker came to CSUSM from UC San Diego where was the Tritons' assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons beginning in June 2020.
• Prior to UCSD, Booker was the associate head coach at Eastern Washington from April 2017 through May 2020 and was named the top assistant coach in the Big Sky Conference by Stadium.
• While at Eastern Washington, Booker helped the Eagles win 59 games overall and a Big Sky Conference Championship in 2019-20 while helping develop two Big Sky Players of the Year.
• Before Eastern Washington, Booker was the director of basketball operations at Davidson College in 2016-17 after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at UC Irvine from April 2011 to March 2016, where he was also the director of basketball operations for one season prior.
• Booker's first coaching gig as an assistant came at Miramar Community College in 2006-07, and he later became the assistant coach and interim head coach at Saddleback Community College from July 2007 through August 2010.
• Booker earned his bachelor's in history at Davidson College in 2004and earned his master's in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2010.
• At Davidson, Booker was a starter for the 2002 Southern Conference Championship team that faced Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament and contributed to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2001 and 2002.