Reeling Cal State Stanislaus men drop ninth straight

File under, “It always can get worse.”

The slumping Cal State Stanislaus Warriors, already stung by a nasty loss Friday night to Cal State Monterey Bay, took the court Saturday night without leading scorer Alek Carlson.

It followed that the Warriors dropped their ninth straight, this time to California Collegiate Athletic Conference cellar dweller Cal State East Bay 73-53 Saturday night at Fitzpatrick Arena.

Carlson, who suffered a separated shoulder in the final minutes Friday night, will be examined this week. The prognosis doesn’t look good. The Warriors (5-14, 4-10 CCAA) also missed another starter in Richard Medina (foot).

“Our guys were a little tired, more from the disappointment of (Friday) night’s game. I have to do a better job,” Stanislaus coach Larry Reynolds said. “We have to shake the previous night off.”

The Warriors, who haven’t won since New Year’s Day, started like a team in free fall. They scored four points in the first eight minutes while East Bay (8-15, 4-11) – which had dropped the last 13 to Stanislaus – opened with a 22-4 punch.

Stanislaus, down 35-19 at halftime after trailing by 20, rallied. The Warriors turned a flagrant Pioneers foul into six points, four by Christian Bayne (12 points), and climbed to within 50-45 with 7:23 left.

Bayne missed a three-pointer, however, and the Warriors retreated. East Bay, anchored by guard Jalen Richard’s 30 points on 8-of-11 shooting, scored the next 12 points.

“We’ve done that a few times where we fall behind and come back but can’t get over the hump,” Reynolds said. “It’s part of being a young team. We’re taking baby steps.”

Stanislaus hit only 14 of 48 shots (29 percent), a feeble answer to the 15 triples poured in by East Bay. Kyi Thomas topped the Warriors with 14 points, and Kyle Gouveia had 10 points and seven rebounds.

There will be no shortcut, Reynolds said, out of Stanislaus’ tough times.

“It is my experience that if you play hard, you always have a chance to win,” he said. “You might face overwhelming odds, but that’s why you play the game.”

Home winning streak snapped – The Stanislaus women’s 8-0 run at home didn’t stress the Pioneers (19-4, 13-3 CCAA), who stayed in the CCAA’s top three with an impressive 84-62 win. The Warriors (14-6, 10-4), who lost at East Bay 69-47 on Dec. 19, didn’t fare any better in the rematch.

The Pioneers, anchored by senior guards Laci Effenberger (21 points) and Shannon Bland (20), connected on 14 of 25 three-pointers (nine by the two guards). Each hit a triple to start the game as East Bay scored the first 10 points. Worse for Stanislaus, the Pioneers nailed 8 of 12 in the first half and led by 29. The Warriors got as close as 11 in the second half.

“(East Bay) shot 60 percent from the field in the first half. That sets you up for a loss,” Stanislaus coach Wayman Strickland said.

Call it a chance missed by the Warriors after their hard-fought win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday night. Problem was, East Bay also brought momentum with its two-point win over Chico State.

Strickland knows East Bay is one of the teams Stanislaus eventually must catch and overtake to gain ground in the CCAA. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Pioneers have won nine of the last 10 meetings.

Forward Cassidy Sanders-Curry and guard Alysa Valentine paced Stanislaus with 12 points apiece. Riley Holladay had 11 points and eight rebounds. The Warriors shot 40 percent from the floor, not good enough against their torrid guests. Hayward’s Ashleigh Anderson, another guard, came off the bench for 17 points.

“They’ve beaten us twice and showed what they’re made of. We have a few steps to go,” Strickland said. “They handled our pressure. We couldn’t bother them at all. We have to develop our stamina, mentally and physically, to sustain our focus.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 6:43 AM with the headline "Reeling Cal State Stanislaus men drop ninth straight."