The expected offensive showdown turned out to be just that Saturday night - and Cal State Stanislaus exploded for its best scoring night with a 93-82 victory over Cal State East Bay.
Reggie Jones, the CCAA's top scorer, went off for 30 more points as the Warriors won their third straight game - and their second consecutive road win. Cal State Stanislaus improved to 11-5 overall and 7-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
The two road-win weekend propelled the Warriors in the standings after a shake-up in the conference. Cal State Stanislaus is now in a group of seven CCAA teams within one game of each other atop of the standings.
Saturday night's contest between the Warriors and Cal State East Bay featured two of the top scoring teams in the CCAA. The Warriors entered the week third in the conference with a 73.7 points per game average. CSUEB was second with a 76.4 points per game average. Fortunately for the Warriors, East Bay is also the second worst defensive until, allowing 75.4 points a game.
Jones, whose career high is 31 points set Jan. 6 vs. UC San Diego, scored in the 30s for the third time this year. He was a prolific 9-for-16 from the floor and made 12 of 14 free throw attempts. He also pulled six rebounds and blocked three shots.
Three other Warriors also scored in double figures with Ronnie Sawyer picking up a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Sam Marcus had 14 points (6-for-7 shooting) and Dan Daviess scored 13 (with three three-pointers).
Stanislaus didn't waste any time getting its offense going as the Warriors rolled off to a 13-0 lead before CSUEB made its first bucket.
The Warriors led by as many as 21 points with 7:45 left to play in the first half, but East Bay rallied back and pulled within six, 51-45, at halftime.
Cal State Stanislaus never trailed in the game and allowed East Bay to tie the game just once, at 63 apiece with 11 minutes left to play.
However, Stanislaus' hot shooting - from the field and the free throw line - continued. A 10-4 run put the Warriors back up by six and minutes later a Marcus jumper at 4:31 gave the Warriors a double-digit lead they wouldn't forge.
In the end, the Warriors shot 54.5 percent from the floor and were 29-for-33 from the foul line. They also out-rebounded Cal State East Bay 38-30.
Cal State East Bay's hot offense was led by Mark Samuels, who finished with 26 points. Samuels entered the week third in the CCAA in scoring average. The Pioneers (7-8, 5-6 CCAA) had a solid resume this season with wins over Humboldt State and Cal Poly Pomona.
Cal State Stanislaus remains unbeaten against Cal State East Bay in five CCAA meetings since CSUEB joined the conference.