CARSON, Calif. – California State University San Bernardino men's basketball suffered its first loss of the season Friday afternoon at the Torodome, falling 81-79 to #11 Point Loma after a three-pointer in the final seconds gave the Sea Lions the victory.
The Coyotes move to 3-1 on the season.
Junior guard Aidan Fowler opened the scoring with a contested three-pointer from the corner. CSUSB followed with a 16-6 run to build a 28-17 lead.
Defensively, the Coyotes held Point Loma to 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) shooting from beyond the arc in the first half, taking a 44-36 advantage into halftime.
The Coyotes extended their lead to 63-51 with 12:34 remaining before Point Loma rallied to tie the game at 65-65. The Sea Lions later converted a difficult layup through contact and knocked down the ensuing free throw to take a 70-69 lead with 4:36 remaining.
Fifth-year forward Trey Booker-Lowery kept CSUSB close with a thunderous dunk, posterizing a Sea Lions defender to bring the Coyotes back within one.
Booker-Lowery later gave the Coyotes a 79-78 lead on a contested layup over two defenders with 19 seconds remaining. However, Point Loma answered with a three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to take an 81-79 lead. With one timeout remaining, the Coyotes drew up a final play but were unable to execute it against tight defense from the Sea Lions, falling 81-79.
Despite the loss, four Coyotes finished in double figures, led by junior guard Chris Harris and fifth-year forward Trey Booker-Lowery with 22 points apiece. Harris recorded his third consecutive game with at least 15 points, while fifth-year center Tane Prictor posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Hassan Dorman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and four assists.
CSUSB shot 58.2 percent from the field (32-of-55) and 88.9 percent from the free-throw line (8-of-9).
The Coyotes return to action Saturday against Vanguard at 4 p.m. at the Torodome to close out the PacWest/CCAA Crossover.
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