SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (4-17, 4-11 CCAA) will head to Cal State San Bernardino (16-9, 9-7 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Cal Poly Pomona (12-10, 7-9 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m. before hosting Sonoma State (10-11, 6-9 CCAA) on Monday at 7 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM began the week's slate of games with an 88-75 loss to San Francisco State on Thursday as Dexter Stratton and Micah Boone scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.
• The Cougars concluded the week in the win column as it earned an 81-67 victory over Cal State East Bay to sweep the season series. Four Cougars scored double figures as Will Harris led the way with 16 points.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM enters the week still 2.5 games out of a spot in the CCAA Tournament.
• The Cougars are making the most free throws per game in the conference at 16.3 while taking the most attempts at 22.8.
• Scoring 23.24 points per game, CSUSM's bench ranks second in the CCAA.
• Coming down with 11.71 offensive rebounds per game, the Cougars rank second in the conference and have the second-best rebound margin in the league at 3.5.
• CSUSM is averaging 34.29 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the CCAA.
• Keavie Love's 80.5 free throw percentage ranks fourth in the conference.
• Coming down with 6.6 boards per game, Dexter Stratton ranks eighth in the league while 2.24 offensive rebounds per game also rank eighth.
• CSUSM has outrebounded its opponents in 14 of 21 games this season,
• Stratton and Love are the only Cougars scoring double figures at 12.2 and 10.2 points per game, respectively.

COUGARS AGAINST THE COYOTES

• CSUSB comes into the week on a three-game losing skid, falling 91-81 to Cal Poly Humboldt, 84-82 to then-No. 23 Cal State Dominguez Hills and 86-78 to Cal State LA.
• The Coyotes are tied for third in the CCAA standings with Cal Poly Humboldt.
• This will be the second meeting of the season between the Cougars and Coyotes as CSUSM fell to then-No. 19 CSUSB by a score of 78-73 on Dec. 7 at The Sports Center.
• CSUSB has the second-best scoring defense in the CCAA at 69.1 points allowed per game while maintaining the fourth-best scoring offense at 74.8 points per game.
• The Coyotes' 34.7 3-point field-goal percentage is second in the conference while its 30.5 3-point percentage defense also ranks second.
• Forcing 16.08 turnovers per game, CSUSB is third in the league.
• The Coyotes commit the second-most fouls per game in the CCAA at 19.0.
• Andrew Henderson's 15.3 points per game rank sixth in the conference.
• Evan Oliver's 133 assists for the season rank ninth nationally while his 5.3 per game also lead the CCAA. His 2.44 steals per game rank second in the league and 17th nationally.
• Nic Welp and Henderson average 7.1 and 6.8 rebounds per game, ranking fifth and seventh in the conference, respectively.
• The Coyotes own an 11-5 lead in the all-time series against the Cougars and are 5-1 when playing CSUSM at home.
• CSUSM won last year's meeting in San Bernardino by a score of 84-77 to knock off the then-No. 22 Coyotes.

SATURDAY IN POMONA

• The Broncos enter the week in a four-way tie for sixth in the CCAA standings.
• Last weekend, CPP split its pair of games with a 48-46 win at Cal State LA on Thursday before a 72-49 loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday.
• In the first meeting with CSUSM on Dec. 5, CPP earned a 72-65 win at The Sports Center.
• The Broncos are just 3-6 at home this season while they're much better on the road at 8-4.
• Before facing CSUSM, CPP will take on Sonoma State on Thursday night.
• The Broncos have the 13th-best scoring defense in Division II and lead the CCAA at 64.5 points allowed per game while holding opponents to a conference-low 41.3 field-goal percentage.
• CPP also leads the league in bench points per game (25.64), fewest fouls per game (15.4) and offensive rebounds per game (11.73).
• The Broncos are the worst 3-point shooting team in the conference at 29.5%.
• CPP ranks next-to-last in the CCAA for assists per game (11.7), fastbreak points (7.18), free throw percentage (65.5) and scoring offense (66.2).
• Demarreya Lewis-Cooper leads CPP with 11.6 points per game and is the only Bronco averaging double figures.
• The Broncos have the slight edge in the all-time series at 9-7, but when playing in Pomona, they're 4-4 against the Cougars.
• CSUSM won last season's meeting in Pomona by a score of 67-60.

MAKEUP GAME AGAINST SONOMA STATE

• Monday's game against Sonoma State is a makeup of the Dec. 21 postponement that occurred due to foggy conditions delaying flights at the San Diego International Airport.
• Before facing the Cougars, the Seawolves will travel to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday and Saturday.
• SSU is 10th in the CCAA standings and is just a half-game outside the sixth and final spot for the CCAA Tournament.
• The Seawolves won the conference opener against the Cougars on Nov. 30 by a score of 74-62 in Rohnert Park.
• This past weekend, SSU fell 80-73 to Cal State East Bay before earning a 63-60 win against San Francisco State.
• The Seawolves are the best 3-point shooting team in the CCAA at 36.6% while making the most per game at 8.6.
• SSU is dishing out a conference-best 15.0 assists per game.
• The Seawolves have the worst scoring defense in the league at 75.7 points allowed per game while having the fifth-best scoring offense at 74.4 points per game.
• Chris Holley has the CCAA's best assist/turnover ratio at 2.46.
• James Nobles leads SSU with 14.0 points per game and is one of four Seawolves to average double figures.
• CSUSM is 11-5 in the all-time series against SSU and is 6-2 when playing the Seawolves at home.
• The Cougars have won the past four meetings against the Seawolves at The Sports Center.

 2024-25 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM will have a new look this season as 10 of its 13 student-athletes are newcomers to the program.
• Four of CSUSM's 11 newcomers are freshmen while the other six are four-year/community college transfers.
• The Cougars return three student-athletes from last year's roster in senior Uriah Foster, sophomore Max Tengan and redshirt junior Donovan Watkins.
• Tengan is CSUSM's leading scorer among returners at 9.0 points per game while dishing out 2.2 assists per game and shooting 35.8% from beyond the arc.
• CSUSM was picked to finish 10th in the 2024-25 CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll.

THE BOOKER FILE

• Nick Booker enters his second season at the helm of CSUSM men's basketball after he became the Cougars' third head coach in program history on June 5, 2023.
• In his first season in 2023-24, Booker's Cougars tied for eighth in the CCAA standings and earned statement wins over No. 10 Chico State and No. 22 and eventual semifinalist Cal State San Bernardino.
• Booker came to CSUSM from UC San Diego where he 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 2004 and 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.
• Booker has a career record of 14-35 (.286).