After the Christmas Break, the Warriors get back on home court to host Cal State San Marcos on Friday and rings in the new year against UC San Diego on Sunday.

Friday
Warriors vs. Cal State San Marcos (8-2, 3-1 CCAA), Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena, Turlock, 7:30 p.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio Only]

Sunday
Warriors vs. UC San Diego (6-5, 3-2 CCAA), Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena, Turlock, 4 p.m. | [Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio Only]

New Year's Weekend Games
The last two times the Warriors played over the New Year's Weekend, they went 2-0. On Jan. 1, 2016 Stan State beat Cal State L.A. in a thrilling 80-71 overtime win. On New Year's Eve 2013 (Dec. 31), the Warriors beat San Francisco State at home, 66-61.

New Year's Weekend Games
1/1/16 vs. Cal State L.A. W, 80-71
12/31/13 vs. SF State W, 66-61
12/31/10 at Cal State L.A. L, 59-66
12/31/07 at Nevada L, 75-104

The Hot Start
At 9-3, the Warriors are two wins from matching how the 2013-14 team began the season. The record setting squad started the year 11-3 en route to a CCAA Championship and the NCAA tournament run.

Better on the Road
This is rare. So far this season the Warriors are better on the road at 6-1 than they are on at home at 3-2. Their two home losses are against West Region powers Cal Poly Pomona and Seattle Pacific, however. The Warriors have only posted two winning seasons on the road overall, with 7-6 records in 2014-15 and 2011-12.

Career Best for Baskett
Caleb Baskett had been running the offense, but in the Dec. 18 game against Seattle Pacific, he made baskets. Baskett scored a career-high 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting with three three-pointers to go with four assists and four steals. His 20-point out-put was more than his points totals in the four previous games combined (18).

Bon Jour, Francois 
Xavier Francois had his best all-around game on Dec. 16 at Cal Maritime when he scored 17 points and pulled 15 rebounds for his second double-double. He was 5 of 8 from the field and made 7 of 8 free throws, along with an assist and a steal.

Take the Free Points
As a team, the Warriors had their best free throw shooting game on Dec. 16 at Cal Maritime, hitting 24 of 28 tries for 85.7 percent. No one missed more than one free throw that night with Xavier Francois led at 7-for-8. Vida Faniel and Andy Cleaves each went 5-for-6.

Stepping Up the Defense
We know Andy Cleaves can score — he leads the team with 13.6 points a game and had eight double-digit games. But, Cleaves has also stepped up his defense. In the last three games, he's tallied 10 steals (with a block against Cal Maritime). Aside from the Seattle Pacific game (.589), Stan State has held opponents under 34 percent shooting in the previous four games (all Stanislaus wins). The Warriors are third best in the CCAA in scoring defense (68.4 points allowed per game) and holds opponents to 41.5 percent shooting (all games).

Ball Handling
The Warriors have committed fewer turnovers than their opponents in all but one game this season and they are 8-3 in those games. The only game they had more TOs was at Humboldt State (8 to 7). The team is averaging just 11.6 turnovers per game, the second best in the CCAA (Cal State Dominguez Hills, 11.5).

Four 20-point Scorers
The Stan State team features a number of scorers with four different Warriors posting games with 20 or more points this season. Andy Cleaves and Vida Faniel have each scored 20-plus twice with Cleaves netting 35 in a game. Kyle Gouveia and Caleb Baskett have also hit the 20-point mark this season … Eight different Warriors have also scored double-digits in games (Cleaves did so seven times).

This Week's Opponents

Cal State San Marcos COUGARS (8-2, 3-1 CCAA)
Series Notes: Cal State San Marcos has won all three previous meetings since the Cougars became a CCAA program in 2015-16.

Last Time We Met... was Feb. 9, 2017, in Turlock. CSUSM won 94-76 by shooting 56.1 percent with five players in double figures. The Warriors were led by Joey Bennett's 18 and Kyle Gouveia had 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

About the Cougars: Cal State San Marcos has won two straight (at CSUDH and at Cal State LA) after its game at Pomona was postponed on Dec. 9 … CSUSM is averaging 84.8 points per game, the best in the CCAA … Ethan Alvano leads the CCAA with 20.5 points per conference game.

UC San Diego TRITONS (6-4, 3-2 CCAA)
Series Notes: UC San Diego has won three straight in the head-to-head series. The Warriors were 10-1 against the Tritons before that. Teams are tied 17-17 all-time.

Last Time We Met... was Jan. 27, 2017 in Turlock. The Tritions won 72-54 with 11 three-pointers. Kaelen Mitchell had 12 points and Kyle Gouveia scored 11 to lead Stan State.

About the Tritons: UC San Diego split the games the last time out in LA (W, 81-73) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (L, 63-65) … The Tritons are fifth in the CCAA with 75.0 points per game … Former Warrior Christian Bayne leads UCSD with 18.0 points per conference game.