by US Fed News

Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team managed to keep things interesting before finally putting away an important California Collegiate Athletic Association victory. The Golden Eagles struggled mightily from the free-throw line, but still had enough in the tank to beat Cal State Monterey Bay, 80-70, Friday night in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (7-5, 2-3 CCAA) shot nearly 51 percent from the field, but missed 20 of 38 free-throw attempts in the contest. Cal State Monterey Bay (9-3, 3-2 CCAA) was much more efficient at the line - 19-of-27 - but the Otters shot only 34.3 percent from the field.

Cal State Monterey Bay owned a 48-40 advantage on the boards and committed 16 turnovers to 15 for the Golden Eagles. Cal State L.A. trailed at halftime, 36-35, but opened the second half with a 16-4 run in the first six minutes to take the lead for good. The Golden Eagles was unable to shake the Otters, although Cal State L.A. never trailed by less than six points the rest of the way. Chris Fields led four Golden Eagles in double figures with 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Chris Mark had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Donte Bell added 13 points and four rebounds and Tyler Polo had 11 points and six rebounds. Joe Mitchell had 17 points and 19 rebounds for Cal State Monterey Bay, while Steve Monreal had 17 points and three steals. Jose Sanchez and Dante Green had 14 points each. Cal State L.A. hit 15 of its 27 field-goal attempts in the second half (57.7 percent), but made only 13-of-25 free-throw attempts (52 percent). The free-throw percentage was even worse in the first half (38.5 percent) when the Golden Eagles made only five of 13 tries. The Otters jumped out of the gates quickly, scoring the first seven points of the game on their way to a 14-2 lead. A basket by Leland Jones stopped the barrage and started the Golden Eagles on a 10-0 run that included baskets by Bell, Mark, Fields and a pair of free throws by Artis Gant. A 3-pointer by Fields gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game, 19-18. Three consecutive free throws by Monreal gave the Otters a 36-33 lead, but Polo hit a jumper just before the halftime buzzer to bring the Golden Eagles to within one point at 36-35. A layup by Monreal gave the Otters their last lead, 40-39, with 19:05 remaining, but the Golden Eagles went on a 12-0 run to take a 51-40 lead and take control of the game with 13:58 remaining. A layup by Fields gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good at 41-40 and the run continued with layups by Gant and Fields, two baskets by Mark and another layup by Fields. Cal State Monterey Bay pulled to within six points, 56-50, after a dunk by Green, but a 3-pointer by Bell stretched the lead back to nine, 59-50. A jumper by Green sliced the lead down to six points again at 63-57, with 5:35 to go, but a layup by Fields and a free throw by Bell boosted it back to nine, 66-57, with 4:26 remaining. A 3-pointer by Sanchez made it 70-62 with 2:16 to go, but the Golden Eagles got a layup by Gant, two free throws by Bell and two free throws from Polo to put the game out of reach. Cal State Monterey Bay was never able to get closer than 10 the rest of the way. Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday night with a home game against San Francisco State.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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