SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – In the NCAA Div. II top-five showdown, the No. 5 Yotes hosted the No. 4 Cal State San Marcos Cougars. CSUSB was quick to gain the lead, but Cal State San Marcos forced the Yotes into overtime. In overtime, CSUSB found their stride once again and won the game, 74-64.
In the first half the Yotes out rebounded the Cougars 26-16, leading to seven second chance points. The scoring down low was close with CSUSB scoring 24 points to CSUSM's 22 points from the paint. The Yotes made an emphasis on ball movement, as they collected eight assists in the first half.
Daytone Jennings dominated the post almost taking a double-double in the first half alone. Jennings scored 12 points and had nine rebounds and one block.
Brandon Knapper made his return known, hitting two three-point shots, creating the Yotes highest lead at 11 points going into the half. The Yotes returned to the second half with the score, 35-24.
In the second half CSUSM slowly chipped away at the Yotes lead. With consistent stops and a surge in scoring, the Cougars tied the game with seven minutes left on the clock. With three minutes left the Yotes were up by only by three points, 58-55.
Down by two points with 33 seconds left on the board,
Darius Mickens went for a put-back and scored the and-one. Mickens went to the line and nailed the free throw putting the Yotes up, 61-60.
Down by two with 5.2 seconds on the clock, Knapper took a three point shot when he was fouled. At the line shooting three, Knapper nailed two, taking the score to 63-63. The game went into overtime.
The Yotes found there stride once more as Jennings made his way to the free throw line three times and scored the first five points while sending some CSUSM players off the court in foul trouble. This lead would only expand and be the end of Cal State San Marcos as the No. 5 Yotes defeated the No. 4 Cougars, 74-64.
"Two really good teams went to war to tonight" said coach
Andy Newman on the game. "When adversity hit, the entire team responded well. I'm really proud of everyone. Tomorrow we are back at work."
Leading in scoring for the Yotes was CCAA Player of the week
Darius Mickens who scored 21 points, and had four rebounds and three steals. Jennings grabbed his ninth double-double of the season, collecting 19 points, 15 rebounds, and two assists. Knapper returns to Coussoulis Arena adding 14 points, five rebounds, and two assist to his already stacked season stats.
CSUSB is scheduled to play their next game on Thursday, January 27
th at 7:30 p.m. in Coussoulis Arena against Cal State East Bay. Spectators are limited to only guests of student-athletes, coaches, and staff. More information regarding CSUSB spectator policy
here. All CCAA conference matches are available to stream on
ccaanetwork.com.
