AZUSA, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (0-3) fell 76-61 against Western Washington (3-0) on Friday night at the Felix Event Center on the campus of Azusa Pacific.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Dexter Stratton – 12 points | 6 rebounds
Micah Boone – 12 points | 1 rebound
Donovan Watkins – 11 points | 4 assists | 2 rebounds
Uriah Foster – 10 points | 5 rebounds | 1 assist
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cougars began the game up 4-0 after a Donovan Watkins jumper and a pair of free throws by Austin Nassar before the Vikings went on a 5-0 run to take the lead on a Will Wilson layup at the 17:33 mark.
• CSUSM then recorded its own 5-0 run with a Dexter Stratton pull-up jumper and a Watkins 3-pointer to go up 9-5 with 16:08 left in the half.
• WWU went on a 12-2 run to take the lead at 17-11 on a pair of free throws by Louis Grante-Holliday with 11:26 remaining in the period.
• A pair of free throws by the Vikings' Dajon Lott gave WWU a double-digit lead at 27-17 at the 6:54 mark of the half.
• A 6-0 run by the Cougars trimmed the deficit down to 27-23 following a layup by Stratton with 4:11 remaining in the half.
• CSUSM made it a one-point game at 28-27 with a pull-up jumper by Watkins before two good free throws by Uriah Foster with 1:26 left in the half.
• WWU closed out the half on a 4-0 run to go into the break with a 32-27 lead. The Cougars shot 29.6% (8-of-27) in the first 20 minutes while the Vikings checked in at 43.5% (10-of-23).
• CSUSM never came closer than seven points in the second half as the Vikings took a double-digit lead for good with 11:53 remaining as Grant Kepley made one of two free throws to make it a 48-38 lead for WWU.
• WWU took its largest lead of the game at 20 points with 5:21 left on a Garrett Levesque 3-pointer to make it 64-44.
• CSUSM shot better in the second half at 44.4% (12-of-27) but WWU was hotter at 64% (16-of-25)

 
FAST BREAKS

• The Cougars ended the game shooting 37% (20-of-54) from the field while the Vikings shot 54.2% (26-of-48).
• CSUSM committed fewer turnovers at 17-20, but WWU had the edge in rebounds (33-32), assists (10-9), steals (7-6) and blocked shots (3-0).
• The Cougars did have a heavy presence on the offensive boards at 15-9.
• CSUSM scored 15 points off turnovers to WWU's 11 while also leading in second-chance points at 23-10.
• This was the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Vikings.

 
UP NEXT
CSUSM will return to action in Azusa tomorrow as it faces Seattle Pacific at 5:15 p.m. at the Felix Event Center.