Box Score LOS ANGELES — The Warriors weren't going to let teams comeback in the second half again. That has happened too many times this season, including Friday night.
This time, Cal State Stanislaus held off Cal State L.A. in the end as the Warriors beat the Golden Eagles, 66-62, Saturday night at the Eagles Nest.
With the win the Warriors (14-10 overall, 10-10 CCAA) hold on to a two-game lead (with two regular season games remaining) over the Cal State East Bay Pioneers for the final conference tournament berth.
The Warriors control their own destiny and can book the bus reservation with a win on Thursday when they host Cal State East Bay on homecoming night at Fitzpatrick Arena.
Saturday against Cal State L.A. (15-9, 11-9 CCAA)
Reggie Jones led Stanislaus with 20 points and nine rebounds and
Ronnie Sawyer chipped in 16 points with eight rebounds.
Donald Gaines was key to the team's success in the second half as he finished with 14 points off the bench.
Gaines scored 12 of his points in the second half and made 5 of his 7 attempts as Stanislaus shot 57.7 percent in the half. For the game, the Warriors shot 54.2 percent against the top defense in the CCAA (LA allowed a conference-low .393 field goal percentage).
Meanwhile, Cal State L.A. shot just 38.3 percent for the game. The Golden Eagles stayed in the game mainly due to their offensive rebounding advantage, 18-5, over the Warriors.
Like Friday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Stanislaus held a lead at the break. Against L.A. the Warriors led by five at the break but built a lead as large as 14 points eight minutes into the second half. (CSUS led by as many as 19 points against CSUDH Friday night).
Unlike Friday night, the Warriors didn't blow the lead completely. The Golden Eagles got within four points during a five-minute period to make Warrior fans nervous again. Fortunately, and as usual, Jones kept the Warriors ahead with a couple of scores and after a pair of LA free throws with 12 seconds left, Sawyer would seal the deal by connecting on two foul shots to give Stanislaus the victory.
Last month, against Cal State L.A. on Jan. 13, in Turlock, it was just the opposite with the Warriors falling behind by 20 with a poor first half only to rally late before coming up short.
