SAN MARCOS, Calif. – A poor shooting night proved costly as the San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped its third straight game on Friday night, 70-51, to Cal State San Marcos at the Sports Center.

By the Numbers

 

• The Gators fall below .500 at 4-5 and have lost their three CCAA contests thus far. Meanwhile, the Cougars improve to 3-5 overall with all three wins coming in conference play. They current sit in a tie for third place at 3-1.
• The Gators had three players in double digits, led by Eche Okeke with a dozen. CJ Bellamy and Caleb Oden both added 10 points apiece. Okeke added a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds.
• Notably absent from the Gators' high scorers was the team's leading scorer, Toby Okwuokei. The senior guard was limited to two points on 1-of-5 shooting. Jonah Roth, who entered the night as the team's second leading scorer, had seven points on 2-of-8 shooting.
• Greg Milton III led all players with 21 points and made it a double-double with 10 rebounds. Joel Mensah added 14 points for the Cougars, Jayce McCain poured in 12, and Lyle Sutton added 10 points in the win.
• As a team, the Gators shot a season-low 33.3 percent (17-of-51). The Cougars shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, including 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half. CSUSM also finished with a blistering 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from behind the arc.
• CSUSM held a slight 34-32 edge on the glass. 
• The Cougars distributed the ball well and racked up 21 assists to the Gators' seven. 

How it Happened

The first half was tight nearly throughout. The game was tied at 22-22 with just over three minutes remaining in the half. McCain hit a three-pointer inside two minutes to put the Cougars up for what would turn out to be for good. Roth kept it a one-possession game with a free throw but Mensah and Sutton hit back-to-back baskets that gave CSUSM a 30-23 advantage headed into intermission.

Okeke cut the lead to five with the first possession of the second half but Mensah and Milton scored buckets that built the Cougars lead to 10. From there, the deficit grew to as large as 19.
 

Up Next

The Gators next head to Cal State LA (5-5/2-2 CCAA). The Golden Eagles are coming off of an 82-65 win versus Cal State Monterey Bay. Saturday's game will be broadcast on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. In-game updates will also available on Twitter at @sfstate_mbb, pending platform availability.