In their season debut, the Cal State Stanislaus Warriors were impressive as they had little trouble against visiting Pacifica College in an 86-67 win.
All-conference forward Reggie Jones had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Brett Sayad pulled 12 boards to go with his 10 points to lead the Warriors. Newcomers Marcus Walters netted 16 points and Donald Gaines chipped in 10 points in their first contest as Warriors.
Alex Branden and Quinczy Spencer each scored 21 points to lead Pacifica College, an independent private institution in Moreno Valley.
Fittingly, it was Walters, a native of Riverside (near Moreno Valley), who got the Stanislaus offense going. His first two 3-pointers came in the game's first three minutes that gave the Warriors an 8-1 lead. Walters, a transfer from Irvine Valley College, finished with four of the team's eight 3-pointers.
Stanislaus' first half lead ballooned to 18 points with four minutes left to play after a 15-8 run capped by a Vincent Fuller layup.
The Gladiators stayed in the game thanks to their frequent trips to the free throw line. In the first half alone, they were 13 of 16 from the line (compared to CSUS' 4-for-4). Still, the Warriors held a 46-32 halftime lead.
After Pacifica cut the Warrior lead down to eight early in the second half, the Warriors took off again using an 11-2 run for a 17-point lead en route to the blow-out.
With Jones and Sayad inside, Cal State Stanislaus dominated with 32 in-the-paint points. The Warriors also out-rebounded Pacifica, 45-22, with 23 offensive rebounds and 22 second-chance points.
In the end, Pacifica scored 30 of its 67 points from the free throw line on 34 tries. Impressively the Warriors were perfect from the charity stripe going 20-for-20.
Jones was 6-for-6 from the line to go with his solid 8-for-12 shooting day. He also nailed two of three 3-point attempts.
Cal State Stanislaus will go on the road next weekend to participate in the Fresno Pacific Thanksgiving Shootout in Fresno. The Warriors will face Texas A&M International on Nov. 25 at 3 p.m. before taking on the host Sunbirds at 4 p.m. on Nov. 26.