 
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM BEGINS SECOND HALF OF CCAA PLAY WITH TWO HOME GAMES/COACH WILL BIGGS WINS 200TH CAREER GAME
The Pioneer men's basketball team, 2-9 in CCAA play and 5-11 overall, will host conference leader Cal State San Bernardino (9-2, 11-4) on January 28 at 7:00 p.m. and Cal Poly Pomona (7-4, 9-5) on January 30 at 7:30 p.m. On January 16, WILL BIGGS won his 200th game as head coach of the Pioneers. After 16 games, the Pioneers are averaging 61.2 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field. Cal State East Bay is seventh in the CCAA in home attendance with an average of 528 fans per game. On November 28, SCOTT KNOX became the Pioneers all-time three point shooter with 127 baskets. MARK SAMUELS, averaging 7.3 points a game, leads the Pioneers in scoring. DEMITRIUS OWENS, averaging 6.8 points and 3.2 rebounds a game, is 12th in the CCAA with 1.2 steals per contest. FRANKIE MCWIRT is netting 6.7 points per game average. WILL FREEDMAN and DONAVON JACKSON are averaging 6.1 and 5.7 points repectively. JAWAAN RUBIN is averaging 5.6 points per game. ADAM GREEN, averaging 5.5 points per game, is shooting 50 percent from the field. JUN UCHIDA has a team-best 50 assists and is fourth in the CCAA in assist/turnover ratio (2.3). Cal State San Bernardino defeated Cal State East Bay, 77-53, on December 5. The Coyotes have won five straight CCAA games and 10 of their last 11 contests. Cal State San Bernardino is led in scoring by Brian LeDuc averaging 14.8 points per game. Cal Poly Pomona won a pair of CCAA road games over San Francisco State, 63-60, on January 22 and Cal State Monterey, 52-51 on January 23. The Broncos defeated Cal State East Bay, 64-37, on December 4. Austin Swift, averaging 13.5 points per game, leads the Broncos in scoring.
CAL STATE EAST BAY MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM TWO-GAME CCAA WIN STREAK SNAPPED BY HUMBOLDT STATE, 85-69
The Pioneer men's basketball team two-game CCAA winning streak ended following an 85-69 defeat to Humboldt State on January 23. Cal State East Bay trailed 38-25 at halftime. Humboldt State extended its lead to 65-38 with 9:37 remaining. The Pioneers cut the big deficit to 85-67 on a three-pointer by Melvin Flemings with 54 seconds left. Prince Ray Hope came off the bench to lead the Pioneers in scoring with 14 points, including 3-three pointers. Donavon Jackson also came off the bench to score 10 points. Will Freedman had five rebounds.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM WINS SECOND STRAIGHT CCAA GAME WITH THRILLING 89-87 OVERTIME VICTORY OVER SONOMA STATE
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team made it two CCAA wins in a row following a thrilling 89-87 overtime victory over Sonoma State on January 21. Sonoma State jumped out to a 39-18 lead with 5:13 left and held a 43-27 halftime advantage. The Seawolves shot 69.2 percent from the field compared to 33.3% for the Pioneers. Donovan Jackson came off the bench to lead Cal State East Bay with six points in the first half. Cal State East Bay still trailed 58-40 with 13:31 remaining in the game. The Pioneers roared back on a jumper by Frankie McWirt cutting the Seawolves lead to 73-69. McWirt converted a 3-pointer to make the score 73-72 with 49 seconds remaining. Sonoma State scored three unanswered free throws to increase its advantage to 76-72 with 11 seconds left. With the score, 77-74 in favor of Sonoma State, Will Freedman nailed a three-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime. Cal State East Bay scored a season-high 50 points in the second half compared to 34 for Sonoma State. The Pioneers grabbed their first lead of the game, 82-81, with 2:40 remaining on the second of two free throws by Demitrius Owens. Cal State East Bay converted three free throws, two by Jawaan Rubin and another by Jun Uchida, to increase its lead to 85-82 with 51 seconds remaining. Sonoma State tied the game 86-86, with 13 seconds left on the second of two free throws by Steven Pratt. Rubin converted a three-point play to give the Pioneers an 89-86 lead with six seconds left in overtime and the hard earned victory. The Pioneers had four players score in double figures led by Uchida and Freedman with 19 and 18 points respectively. Uchida added six assists and three steals. Freedman had a big night on the boards with nine rebounds. Owens came off the bench to score 11 points followed by McWirt with 10. Pratt led Sonoma State in scoring with a game-high 20 points. Cal State East Bay improved to 2-8 in the CCAA and 5-10 overall. Sonoma State stands at 3-8 in CCAA play and 4-12 for the season.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM WINS FIRST CCAA GAME OF THE SEASON BY DEFEATING CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY, 88-69/WILL BIGGS NOTCHES 200TH CAREER COACHING VICTORY AT CAL STATE EAST BAY
Playing their best game of the season, the Pioneer men's basketball team defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 88-69, for their first CCAA victory of the season. The win also marked the 200th career victory at Cal State East Bay for coach Will Biggs. Cal State East Bay jumped out to a 17-6 lead on a three-pointer by Demitrius Owens. The Pioneers held a 42-33 halftime lead while shooting a sizzling 63 percent from the field. Frankie McWirt and Will Freedman led the way with 12 and eight points respectively. The Pioneers held a 21-10 advantage on the boards. In the second half, Cal State Monterey Bay cut the Pioneers lead to 44-41 on a three pointer by Sean Jergo. A pair of free throws by Jun Uchida gave the Pioneers a 73-64 lead with 1:48 remaining. Cal State East Bay went on a 15-5 run, led by Melvin Flemings seven points, to win its first CCAA game (1-8) and improve to 4-10 for the season. For the game, the Pioneers shot 53.4 percent from the field and converted 20 of 23 free throws. Cal State East Bay had a 39-29 rebounding edge and recorded a season best 25 assists. Saeed Gaston led four Pioneer players in double figures with 16 points on 6-of-8 from the field. Flemings and McWirt each scored 12 points while Freedman had 10. Mark Samuels and Uchida had seven and six assists respectively. Jawaan Rubin led the Pioneers on the boards with eight rebounds. "I was glad to win my 200th game at Cal State East Bay," said Pioneer coach Will Biggs. "I've been blessed with some good teams over the past 13 years." "The team really rallied around me tonight after the passing of my Dad earlier in the week. I felt the team effort was great and we came ready to play. Tonight, was a new start for this team."
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM FALLS TO SAN FRANCISCO STATE, 61-43, IN THE "BATTLE OF THE BAY"
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team lost to San Francisco State, 61-43, in the "Battle of the Bay" on January 14. San Francisco State jumped out to a 9-0 early advantage and extended its lead to 26-8 with 7:47 left in the first half. The Gators led 39-13 at halftime while shooting 50 percent from the floor. East Bay's Adam Green hit a jumper to cut the Gators lead to 54-38 with 5:40 remaining. San Francisco State outscored Cal State East Bay 7-5 the rest of the way to improve to 5-3 in the CCAA and 12-4 overall. The Pioneers, 0-8 in the CCAA and 3-10 for the season, were led in scoring by Mark Samuels with 12 points.
CAL STATE EAST BAY MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATED BY CHICO STATE, 68-53
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team put up a game effort before losing to Chico State (5-1 CCAA, 9-2) 68-53 on January 9. The Pioneers only trailed 31-27 at halftime. Cal State East Bay tied the game, 36-36, with 14:57 remaining on a Demitrius Owens three pointer. Chico State went on a 24-10 run to take a 60-46 advantage with 6:37 left and never trailed the remainder of the game. Mark Samuels and Owens scored 14 and 13 points respectively for the Pioneers. Owens was 6-for-9 from the field. Rubin and Jacob Noisat each pulled down six rebounds.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM FALLS TO CAL STATE STANISLAUS, 66-58
The Pioneer men's basketball team lost to visiting Cal State Stanislaus, 66-58, on January 7. Cal State East Bay jumped out to an 11-0 lead and held a 34-40 halftime advantage. The Pioneers maintained a 46-41 lead with 11:36 left on a 3-pointer by Jawaan Rubin. Cal State Stanislaus took a 56-54 lead with 3:20 left. The Warriors outscored the Pioneers 10-4 in the final 3:20 to win the game. The Pioneers converted 8 of 19 three-pointers compared to 3 of 13 for the Warriors. Adam Green and Will Freedman scored 13 and 12 points respectively for the Pioneers.
CAL STATE EAST BAY MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATED BY CAL STATE LOS ANGELES, 72-67
The Cal State East Bay men's basketball team played Cal State Los Angeles tough for most of the game before falling to the Eagles, 72-67, in a CCAA contest on January 3. The Pioneers led 36-35 at halftime behind Adam Green's 14 points. Cal State East Bay trimmed the Eagles lead to 56-55 on a Frankie McWirt 3-pointer with 8:35 remaining. The Pioneers trailed by as many as eight points before Jawaan Rubin hit a three-pointer with 1:59 remaining to cut the Eagles lead to 65-62. Cal State Los Angeles never gave up its advantage in the final two minutes. Green led the Pioneers in scoring with 19 points while Rubin and Prince Ray Prince scored 10 each.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATED BY CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS, 65-61
A second half comeback fell short as the Cal State East Bay men's basketball team lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills 65-61 in a CCAA game on January 2. The Pioneers trailed 40-31 at halftime. Cal State East Bay tied the game, 55-55, on a Jawaan Rubin jumper. A pair of Mark Samuel's free throws gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game 59-57 with 4:24 remaining. Cal State Dominguez Hills scored four unanswered points to take a 61-59 advantage with 3:06 left in the game. Donavon Jackson hit two free throws with 2:55 left to tie contest, 61-61. The Toros hit four free throws in the final minute to win their first CCAA game of the season. Rubin led the Pioneers in scoring with 13 points followed by Frankie McWirt with 10. Will Freedman came off the bench to score seven points and led the Pioneers on the boards with six rebounds. Demetrius Owens had four steals.
CAL STATE EAST BAY MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM RECORDS COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY OVER DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY
The Pioneer men's basketball team came from behind to defeat Dominican University, 54-50, on December 30. Cal State East Bay trailed 28-12 in the first half while shooting only 20 percent from the field. In the second half, Cal State East Bay outscored Dominican 42-22 while shooting 58.1 percent from the floor. The Pioneers took their first lead of the game 37-36 with 10:15 remaining on a basket by Demitrius Owens. Donavon Jackson hit a jumper with 35 seconds left to give the Pioneers a 52-50 lead. Jawaan Rubin's lay up with one second remaining sealed the victory. Owens led all scorers with 22 points and recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds. Rubin scored 13 points on 6 of 8 from the field.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM DROPS CCAA HOME OPENER TO U.C. SAN DIEGO, 70-50
The Pioneer men's basketball team lost their CCAA home opener to U.C. San Diego 70-50 on December 15. Cal State East Bay trailed 32-20 at halftime while shooting 30.8 percent from the field. The Pioneers cut the Tritons lead to 36-30 with 14:18 remaining on a Saeed Gaston basket. U.C. San Diego went on a 34-20 run to post its first victory in CCAA play. Prince Ray Pope came off the bench to lead the Pioneers in scoring with 10 points. Mark Samuels, Frankie McWirt, and Scott Knox all scored six points. "U.C. San Diego did a good job taking us out of our rhythm," said Pioneer coach Will Biggs. "We played hard, but seemed to be a step slow tonight."
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM FALLS TO UNBEATEN SEATTLE PACIFIC, 89-60
The Pioneer men's basketball team stands at 2-4 for the season following an 89-60 defeat to undefeated Seattle Pacific University on December 12. The Pioneers trailed 24-22 on a basket by Mark Samuels with 9:19 remaining in the first half. Seattle Pacific went on a 25-9 run to lead 49-31 at halftime. The Falcons led by as many as 35 points late in the second half to stay undefeated at 7-0. Cal State East Bay shot 39.7 percent from the field. Samuels led the Pioneers in scoring with 16 points. Donavon Jackson came off the bench to score 10 points on 4 of 5 from the field.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATED BY CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Pioneer men's basketball team dropped to 0-2 in CCAA play and 2-3 overall following a 77-53 defeat to Cal State San Bernardio on December 5. Cal State East trailed 38-26 at halftime and were outscored 39-27 in the second half. Frankie McWirt led the Pioneers in scoring with 11 points on 4 of 7 from the field and 1 of 2 three pointers. Saeed Gaston came off the bench to score seven points as the Pioneers received 29 points off the bench compared to 23 for Cal State San Bernardino. The Pioneers had 30 rebounds led by McWirt, Jun Uchida, and Gaston all with three boards.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM DEFEATED BY CAL POLY POMONA IN CCAA OPENER
The Pioneer men's basketball team fell to Cal Poly Pomona 64-37 in the CCAA opener for both teams on December 4. Cal State East Bay trailed 30-14 at halftime and were outscored by 11 points in the second half. The Pioneers, who only shot 26.9 percent from the field, were led in scoring by Melvin Flemings with seven points. Mark Samuels and Frankie McWirt each scored six points. Center Jacob Noisat led the Pioneers on the boards with six rebounds.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM FALLS TO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY IN NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR ON NOVEMBER 30/SCOTT KNOX BREAKS CSUEB CAREER THREE-POINT RECORD
The Pioneer men's basketball team suffered their first defeat of the season to Dominican University 74-60 in the Notre Dame de Namur Classic on November 28. The Pioneers trailed 36-27 at halftime and were outscored 36-27 in the second half. Mark Samuels and Demitrius Owens each scored 10 points for East Bay. Scott Knox hit a pair of three-pointers to become the Pioneers all-time three-point shooter with 127. Samuels was named to the All-Tournament team.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM IMPROVES TO 2-0 FOLLOWING VICTORY OVER NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR ON NOVEMBER 27
The Pioneer men's basketball team improved to 2-0 following a 71-64 victory over Notre Dame de Namur in the Notre Dame Classic on November 27. A basket by Saaed Gaston and a three-pointer by Melvin Flemings gave the Pioneers a 45-39 advantage with 13:17 remaining. The Pioneers never trailed in the final 13 minutes to record their second victory of the season. Three Pioneer players scored in double figures led by Frankie McWirt with 14 points on 6 of 7 from the field. Mark Samuels and Gaston scored 11 and 10 points respectively. Samuels had seven assists.
PIONEER MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM WINS SEASON OPENER OVER SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
Cal State East Bay men's basketball team opened the 2009-10 season on a successful note defeating San Diego Christian College 67-48 on November 21. Cal State East Bay shot 51 percent from the field and out rebounded San Diego Christian College 39-25. Will Freedman scored 12 points on 6 of 9 from the field for the Pioneers. Adam Green also scored 12 points on 5 of 7 from the field. Freshman Jacob Noisat led the Pioneers on the boards with six rebounds. Freshman Mark Samuels, from Berkeley High, contributed to the Pioneer victory with eight points and six assists.
2009-10 CAL STATE EAST BAY MEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW
A new Frontier awaits the 2009-10 Pioneer men's basketball team. Cal State East Bay will begin competition in NCAA Division II and the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Seven players return from a Cal State East Bay team which competed in the 2008-09 NAIA Basketball Championships. "The CCAA is full of outstanding coaches and players," said Will Biggs, entering his 13th year as head coach of the Pioneers. "The conference will be a huge challenge for our basketball team. I feel our team has the potential to be competitive this season." At point guard, the Pioneers feature freshman MARK SAMUELS from Berkeley High School. "Mark is a tough player and leader who knows how to win," Biggs said. Senior JUN UCHIDA, netting 5.5 points and four assists a game, will also play point guard. "Besides a solid all-around game, Jun has improved defensively," Biggs said. Freshman DONAVON JACKSON, from El Toro High School, will start at the off guard position. "Donavon is a quick player who can shoot from the outside," Biggs said. The Pioneers have depth at guard led by junior MELVIN FLEMINGS and freshman EFREN SIFUENTES (Modesto Christian High School). According to Biggs, "Fleming has improved on defense while Sifuentes is a strong-tough kid who could play either guard position." SCOTT KNOX, who is one basket shy of tying a career three-point school record, will be back for his senior campaign. "Scott has made many contributions to the Pioneer men's basketball program," Biggs said. Freshman JACOB NOISAT, from Else High School in Santa Rosa, will play center for the Pioneers. "Jacob is a big-strong kid who will develop into a good center," Biggs said. Junior WILL FREEDMAN, who averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the field, returns at small forward. "Will is a strong, all-around player," Biggs said. "He's a good inside shooter" At power forward, the Pioneers return seniors JAWAAN RUBIN and SAEED GATSON, along with sophomore FRANKIE MCWIRT. Rubin came off the bench to average 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. "Rubin is coming off a knee injury, while Gatson and McWirt have worked hard over the off-season to contribute for the upcoming campaign," Biggs said. The Pioneers expect immediate contributions at the forward position from RYAN PARKER (Sierra College), ADAM GREEN (Mira Costa College), and freshman DEMITRIUS OWENS (San Leandro High School). "Ryan is making good progress from a back injury," Biggs said. "Once healthy, Ryan will make a big contribution." "Adam is a very good player and shooter. Demitrius is a definite play maker." JARED WATERS, a transfer from U.C. Santa Barbara, will play both guard and forward. "We have a nice team," Biggs said. "Our team has depth and plays well enough offensively and defensively to win games." The Pioneers will open the 2009-10 campaign with a pair of exhibition games at U.C. Davis on November 4 and at UOP on November 7. Cal State East Bay will play its regular season and home opener against San Diego Christian on November 21.
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