SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (1-12, 1-6 CCAA) will wrap up its four-game homestand by facing CCAA co-leader (RV) Chico State (12-2, 8-0 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Cal Poly Humboldt (7-6, 3-5 CCAA) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK

• CSUSM began the week with an 80-62 loss against CCAA co-leader Cal State Dominguez on Thursday as Keavie Love and Kyelin King led the Cougars with 13 points each.
• The Cougars concluded the week with an 87-67 loss to Cal State LA on Saturday as Love led CSUSM with 22 points while Micah Boone and Dexter Stratton each came up one rebound shy of a double while scoring 19 and 15 points, respectively.

 
COUGARS BY THE NUMBERS

• CSUSM is scoring the second-most bench points per game in the CCAA at 23.23.
• The Cougars are making the second-most free throws per game in the conference at 15.7 while attempting the second-most in the league at 22.22.
• In CCAA play, CSUSM has the sixth-best field-goal percentage at 43.6.
• The Cougars have the fourth-most rebounds per game in conference play at 34.1 while holding opponents to the fourth-lowest total at 32.7.
• Keavie Love has made the third-most free throws in the CCAA at 53 and has the fifth-best free throw percentage at 80.3.
• Love is coming up with the eighth-most steals per game in league play at 1.9
• Dexter Stratton is coming down with the fifth-most rebounds per game in the conference at 6.7. In CCAA play, he ranks fifth at 6.9 per game.

THURSDAY AGAINST THE WILDCATS

• Chico comes into the week receiving votes in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll.
• The Wildcats are a perfect 8-0 to start CCAA play, tying Cal State Dominguez Hills for the top spot in the league standings.
• Last week, Chico earned an 83-81 overtime win against Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday before taking an 81-67 victory against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.
• The Wildcats lead the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio (1.25), free throw percentage (74.3), scoring margin (8.4), scoring offense (80.9), 3-pointers per game (8.9) and fewest turnovers per game (8.9).
• Chico's scoring defense of 72.5 points allowed per game is the fourth worst in the conference while their 22.0 defensive rebounds per game are the second worst.
• Jojo Murphy is the CCAA's leading scorer at 21.2 points per game while also leading the league in 3-point percentage (41.6) and 3-pointer made per game (2.85). His field-goal percentage of 49.5 ranks sixth in the conference.
• CSUSM owns a slim edge over Chico when playing at home with a 4-3 record but the Wildcats have the advantage in the all-time series at 9-8.
• The Cougars and Wildcats split last season's series as each won a game at home.
• CSUSM has won three of the last four games against the Wildcats and the last two in San Marcos.

HOMESTAND CONCLUSION AGAINST HUMBOLDT

• Humboldt enters the week tied for ninth in the CCAA standings with a 3-5 record.
• The Lumberjacks split last week's set of games with an 80-77 win against Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday before ending the week with a 75-69 loss to Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday.
• Before coming to San Marcos, Humboldt will stop at Sonoma State on Thursday night.
• The Lumberjacks lead the CCAA in blocks per game (5.0), fastbreak points (17.92) and field-goal percentage (47.8) while committing the fewest fouls per game (15.9).
• Leading scoring Rob Diaz averages 15.5 points per game, ranking sixth in the league.
• Kyle Frelow is posting the most rebounds per game in the CCAA at 7.9 while also grabbing the most offensive boards at 2.85.
• The Lumberjacks have the second-worst scoring defense in the conference at 74.9 points allowed per game at 74.9 while scoring the second-most points per game at 78.5.
• CSUSM has won the last five games against Humboldt and seven of the last eight dating back to Jan. 24, 2019.
• The Cougars are 10-5 in the all-time series against the Lumberjacks and are 4-3 when playing at home.
• Humboldt's last win in the series came in a 91-85 overtime victory in San Marcos on Feb. 1, 2020.

 
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 11-30 (.268).