CSUSM Men’s Basketball played their second conference match against Sonoma State (SSU) on Dec. 5. After winning their previous match against Humboldt State, the men knew what skills were required on Saturday to propel them to their 67-60 win.

The Cougars, ranking second in the CCAA for both offense and defense, put up a strong fight in a back and forth affair with the Seawolves. During the game the score was tied eight times and the lead changed a total of 13 times.

The game began with forward Taran Brown winning the jump ball against the Seawolves’ Luke Cochran. With the Cougars ’precise movement down the court, the ball ended up in the hands of CSUSM junior and guard Andrew Bournes, who made the first shot and 3-pointer of the night.

The Cougars continued to set the pace with unique skill sets that each player brought .Guard Devin Koeplin made the Seawolves gasp for air as he ran defenders up and down the court the whole game. Koeplin’s skills coupled with the defensive prowess and 90 percent free throw accuracy of Player of the Month Darnell Taylor wore down the Seawolves.

Entering the second half, CSUSM had the lead over SSU with 36-35 after the Cougars scored a 3-pointer to close out the first half.

The Cougars, however, struggled offensively as their overall percentage of free throws and field goals fell below 50 percent. The players and coach attributed their victory to the Cougars’ intense defensive skills.

Bournes racked up a total of 21 points, his highest scoring output of the season. Taylor amassed the second highest point total with 14 points. Sonoma State’s Ronnie Harris led his team with a total of 17 points and coming up just behind him was Jimmy Golden with 11 points.

After the game, the Cougars had time to collect their thoughts on their first half performance. Head Coach Jim Saia voiced some opinions of his own. Although relieved that his players pulled out the win, he was not as satisfied as the crowd was.

“We struggled in this game against Sonoma,” said Saia. “They had a defense that we were not prepared for, but we made just enough extra plays that I believe won us the game. We have one week until our conference match against Chico State and there’s so much room for improvement to get us to where we need to be in order to put up a strong fight against Chico.”

The star of the night, Bournes, spoke about the team’s performance and the plans for their Dec. 12 conference matchup at Chico State.

“We are an old school team, we have been together for a while and we work really well together,” said Bournes. “I think that we put up a good fight and we did not give up at all throughout this game. [We’re] just constantly working on our defense and offense and that will help us. We just have to play it game by game.”