SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The California State University San Bernardino men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 92-91 loss to Cal State San Marcos in double overtime Thursday evening in a CCAA contest at Coussoulis Arena.

With the defeat, the Coyotes drop to 6-8 overall on the season and 3-4 in CCAA action.

CSUSB looked sharp out the gates, scoring 45 points in the first half and carrying an 11-point lead into the locker room. The Coyotes shot a lights-out 17-for-29 (58.6 percent) from the floor in the opening half, including 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Redshirt senior Gavin Davis (Carson, Calif.) dominated with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while freshman Xavier Clinton (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) had 15 of his own off the bench to help the Yotes leap out to the double-digit halftime advantage.

The Coyotes opened up their largest lead of the evening at 13 points early in the second half, but the Cougars refused to go down quietly. With the Yotes ahead by 11 at 58-47, San Marcos went on a 15-0 run over the span of four and a half minutes to take their first lead since 7-6. CSUSB would rally, and a Malachi Murrell (La Quinta, Calif.) layup with just over a minute to play would send the game to overtime.

Cal State San Bernardino led by a point in the final minute of the first extra session, when Murrell made a key block at the defensive end of the floor. In transition, freshman Zion Paleo (Diamond Bar, Calif.) found his classmate Clinton for a breakaway dunk to put CSUSB up by three with 21 seconds to play, but the Cougars nailed a three at the other end with five seconds left to send the game to double overtime.

The hosts held a one-point lead after a pair of free throws by sophomore Aidan Fowler (San Clemente, Calif.) in the final minute of overtime number two, but the Cougars won the game on a putback lay-in with 0.2 seconds remaining to steal the road victory.

Davis was the contest's leading scorer, posting 25 points in the defeat, while Clinton poured in 22 off the bench, Paleo, Fowler, and Murrell all finished in double figures, with 14, 13, and 10 respectively.

Next up for the Coyotes, they will take on Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday in a CCAA contest at Coussoulis Arena. Tip is slated for 3 p.m.
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