BOX SCORE


ROB BISHOP POSTGAME VIDEO


SEASIDE, Calif. — As the saying goes, the Cal State L.A. men's basketball team couldn't throw it in the nearby Pacific Ocean, but the Golden Eagles used 17 offensive rebounds and an incredible 23 free throw advantage on the road to come from behind and beat Cal State Monterey Bay 62–60 Sunday afternoon in The Kelp Bed.

CSLA shot just 38 percent from the field, 15 percent from beyond the arc and 53 percent from the line, but still found a way to pull the game out in the final minute.

Sophomore guard James Thomas (Castro Valley/Bishop O'Dowd HS) scored a career–high 19 points for CSUMB (2–5, 1–2 CCAA), including a 6–of–8 afternoon from beyond the arc. But it wouldn't be enough on this day.

CSLA (6–1, 3–1) went to the line 38 times and missed 18 of those. But the Golden Eagles turned 17 offensive rebounds into 17 points and 24 Otter turnovers into an additional 21 points. Those numbers proved too much for CSUMB to overcome.

“Plain and simple,” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. “We gave up 13 (offensive) boards in the second half. You give up 13 O–boards and you're not going to beat anybody.”

The Otters led for all but a minute of the first half, building double–digit leads on two occasions before settling on a 31–26 halftime advantage. A Kevin Loustale (Chico HS/Shasta College) layup gave the Otters their final 10–point cushion three minutes into the second half before CSLA began its slow climb back into the game.

The Golden Eagles finally took the lead at 51–50 on a Jordan Richard free throw with 5:16 remaining. In keeping with the theme of the day, Richard missed the second free throw but Leland Jones grabbed the offensive board and made 1–of–2 from the line himself to put CSLA up 52–50.

The teams would play through three ties and two lead changes over the ensuing four minutes until a Chris Robinson jumper put CSLA ahead to stay at 59–57 with 58 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles missed three free throws in the final 29 seconds to keep CSUMB hopes alive, but the Otters wouldn't score again until Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash./N. Oklahoma JC) nailed a three in the final second.

“I told the guys at the end, when we're ready to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and start playing like we're capable of…. We should have won this game” Bishop said. “It was in our hands to win this game and we didn't do it.”

In addition to Thomas, James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) came off the bench to grab a career–high eight rebounds while freshman guard Jalen Headspeth (Oakland HS) passed for a season–high seven assists.

Robinson led all scorers with 21 points for CSLA. Jones added a 17–point, 10–rebound double–double.



CAL STATE L.A. (62)
Chris Robinson 7-16 5-11 21; Leland Jones 6-8 5-10 17; Jordan Richard 3-4 2-4 8; Quinton Watkins 1-10 5-9 7; Ryan Wetherell 1-9 3-4 5; Carl Hoffman 2-3 0-0 4; Percy Lemle 0-1 0-0 0; Cheyanne Alcala 0-0 0-0 0; Jibreel Nasir 0-2 0-0 0; Trevor Hopkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 20-38 62.

CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY (2-5, 1-2 CCAA)
James Thomas 6-9 1-1 19; Kevin Loustale 4-6 5-6 13; Brandon Ward 2-7 4-4 10; Derrick Anderson 3-6 3-3 9; Jaron Devine 2-5 0-1 4; Geoff McIntosh 1-3 0-0 3; James Albert 1-3 0-0 2; Jalen Headspeth 0-2 0-0 0; Courtland Wharton 0-2 0-0 0; Troy Watkins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 13-15 60.

Halftime: CSUMB 31–25. 3-point goals--CSLA 2-13 (Robinson 2-4; Watkins 0-5; Wetherell 0-3; Lemle 0-1), CSUMB 9-15 (Thomas 6-8; Ward 2-4; McIntosh, Geoff 1-3). Fouled out--Headspeth, Loustale. Rebounds--CSLA 35 (Jones 10; Richard 10), CSUMB 34 (Albert 8). Assists--CSLA 7 (Watkins 4), CSUMB 16 (Headspeth 7). Total fouls--CSLA 17, CSUMB 29. Technical fouls--None. A-212.