The Cal State San Bernardino men can wave their chances of a playoff berth goodbye. That’s the result of their lackluster play in a 66-60 loss to Cal State Los Angeles in the CCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday at Coussoulis Arena.
The Coyotes flat out did not deserve to win.Cal State LA made the plays down the stretch, hit free throws, got the key rebounds and just wanted it more,
The Coyotes will be back in the West Region poll due to be released today thanks to three wins last week. An educated guess has them at No. 8 which would be where they have to finish to get into the post-season. But the first round loss means they won’t stay there.
So the Coyotes will miss the playoffs for just the second time in 14 years. Coach Jeff Oliver said the problem has been lack of leadership and lack of work ethic since day one of practice. That indeed seems to be the case to most who see the team play on a regular basis.
It’s too bad because the it seemed to have good enough personnel to be able to compete.
On a brighter note – the Cal State women chalked up a 68-60 win over Humboldt State. Yes it is hard to beat a good team three times but the Coyotes did that against the Lumberjacks, They were No. 7 in the West Region and with a couple of decent teams in the eighth and ninth spots capable of winning conference tournaments the Coyotes could no afford to be bounced in the first round.
Eisha Sheppard was stellar with 21 points, six rebounds and six steals.
Cal State now will play top seed Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday in a semifinal at Cal State East Bay. That will be a tough task given that the Coyotes have lost to the Otters 59-40 and 61-44. That’s not even in the ballpark. They will have to play their absolute best game.
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