SAN DIEGO – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (0-5) fell 81-64 on the road at cross-county foe No. 17 Point Loma (5-1) on Tuesday night at Golden Gymnasium.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Dexter Stratton – 23 points | 8 rebounds | 6-of-6 FT
Will Harris – 8 points | 3 rebounds | 2 steals
Austin Nassar – 7 points | 2 assists | 1 steal
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the Sea Lions began the game with a driving layup by Luke Haupt, the Cougars took their first lead with a 3-pointer by Micah Boone to up 3-2 on their first possession.
• Soon after, PLNU went on a 13-0 run to go up 15-3 after a Coby Barnes 3-pointer with 16:14 left in the half.
• CSUSM closed the gap to 18-16 with a 13-2 run that was capped by a Dexter Stratton jumper with 12 minutes to go in the period.
• After Stratton made two free throws to keep the Cougars within two at 24-22, the Sea Lions made back-to-back 3-pointers to go up 30-22 with 6:49 remaining in the half.
• After Austin Nassar made a 3-pointer to cut CSUSM's deficit to 30-25, PLNU concluded the half on an 11-4 run and took a 41-29 lead after Zack Paulsen made a driving layup with 40 seconds remaining.
• The Cougars shot 41.7% (10-of-24) from the field in the first half while the Sea Lions clocked in at 51.6% (16-of-31).
• PLNU kept its double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, taking its largest lead at 64-41 on a Wynton Brown driving layup with 8:04 remaining.
• The Cougars shot 43.3% (13-of-30) from the field in the second half while the Sea Lions came in at 56% (14-of-25).

 
FAST BREAKS

• CSUSM ended the game shooting 42.6% (23-of-54) from the field while PLNU shot 53.6% (30-of-56). The Sea Lions made 13 3-pointers on 29 attempts (44.8%).
• PLNU had the edge in rebounds (32-29), assists (18-14), fewer turnovers (8-9) and blocked shots (5-1) while CSUSM had more steals (4-2). The Cougars' 14 assists were a season high.
• Stratton's 23 points were a season best and the most by a Cougar this season.
• The Cougar shot a season-high 85.7% (12-of-14) from the charity stripe.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will return to The Sports Center in a week's time for its final non-conference game against Azusa Pacific on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m.