CSUSM Falls in Midweek Matchup at No. 7 PLNU
SAN DIEGO – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (1-2) dropped a 75-61 decision to No. 7 Point Loma (3-0) on Wednesday night at Golden Gym.
TOP PERFORMERS
Max Tengan – 13 points | 1 assist
Dexter Stratton – 11 points | 11 rebounds
Keavie Love – 9 points | 3 steals | 2 assists | 7-of-9 free throws
HOW IT HAPPENED
- CSUSM opened the night with an early 15-10 advantage, sparked by a three from Remington Rofer and strong drives from Max Tengan and Dexter Stratton.
- Point Loma answered with a 7-1 run, taking its first lead at 17-16 midway at the 12:25 mark.
- After PLNU went up 26-21 with 8:19 to play, the Cougars clawed back within 28-26 on a three-point play from Love, but the Sea Lions countered with an 11-3 stretch to close the half.
- Point Loma took a 39-29 lead into the halftime break after shooting 42.9% (12-of-28) from the field while CSUSM shot 26.7% (8-of-30).
- Stratton opened the second half with a jumper to cut the margin to 39-31 before PLNU responded with a 13-4 surge to push the lead to 50-33.
- A 7-0 run helped CSUSM trim the deficit to 10 at 50-40 with 11:38 remaining.
- The Cougars continued to battle, pulling within 10 again at 59-49 on a Rofer layup with just over four minutes left.
- The Sea Lions didn't allow the Cougars to come any closer in the game's final minutes.
QUICK HITS
- Point Loma shot 45.8% from the field while CSUSM finished at 31.7%.
- The Sea Lions held a 36-33 rebounding advantage, including a 28-20 gap on the defensive glass.
- CSUSM went 5-of-17 (29.4%) from beyond the arc compared to PLNU's 7-of-23 (30.4%).
- Both teams posted eight second-chance points.
- CSUSM held a slight 19-18 edge in bench scoring and a 14-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
- The Cougars finished 18-of-26 (69.2%) at the free-throw line while Point Loma went 24-of-27 (88.9%).
- CSUSM posted a season-best 13 steals to PLNU's nine.
- Stratton earned his second straight double-double performance with 11 points and 11 boards.
- Tengan scored 13 points for the second consecutive game.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will wrap up its three-game homestand in a week's time as it heads to Azusa Pacific for a pre-Thanksgiving matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 1 p.m.
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