Box Score

TURLOCK — The Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball team nearly rallied from a 20-point deficit, but the run fell short as Cal State L.A. took a 73-65 decision at Fitzpatrick Arena Friday night.

The Warriors' disappearing offense show up again in the first half and a late rally wasn't enough as they dropped to 8-5 overall and 4-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

Against the conference's top defense -- Cal State L.A. allows just 54.3 points per game -- the Warriors had a tough time getting going in the first half. Stanislaus was 3 for its first 19 field goal attempts and at one point was shooting 13 percent. The Warriors also went on a dry-spelling as they went without a field goal for 10 1/2 minutes.

Meanwhile, Cal State L.A. came out strong and was shooting in the 50 percent range. That translated into a 19-point lead at 4:08 to go until Reggie Jones converted on a three-point play to make it 34-18 with 3:53 to go.

Then, after a pair of CSULA free throws, the Warriors closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 36-26 at the break.

The Golden Eagles (10-3, 6-3 CCAA) would scored the first 10 points in the second half to build the lead up to 20, 46-26.

However, the resilient Warriors rally back. Stanislaus cut the lead to 10 with a Jones layup at 8:53.. The second-half rally would eventually peak with a Malone three-pointer at 1:02 to go to make it a six-point game, but Cal State L.A., normally a poor free throw shooting team, would go 5-for-6 from the line down the stretch for the win. L.A. finished 15 for 30 from the free throw line.

Jones finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double. However, the CCAA scoring leader managed to take just nine shots (he made four). He was also 7 for 11 from the foul line. Brett Sayad chipped in 12 points as he went 4-for-7 from the three-point arch.

Malone finished with eight points and seven rebounds while Dan Daviess and Clinton Tremelling each chipped in seven.

Cal State Stanislaus shot a sold 51.9 percent in the second half (14-for-27) but was 6 for 27 (22.2 percent) in the first half. The Warriors ended up with a 20-for-54 night (37 percent).

Chris Robinson led all players with 25 points, including 10 free throws, and Leland Jones had 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Golden Eagles finished the night 50 percent from the floor (27-for-54).

Cal State Dominguez Hills (7-4, 6-3 CCAA) visits the Warriors Saturday night. The Toros handed Chico State its first home loss of the year with a 49-46 win.