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SAN BERNARDINO – Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball coach Andy Newman has two elements to winning basketball: Playing good defense and helping teammates on offense.
Newman’s formula has worked well this season. The Coyotes’ 101-76 victory over Cal Poly Humboldt showed that very clearly.
“Humboldt has a very balanced offense and they are very talented,” Newman said. “I was a little nervous because they have a lot of people who can score. I emphasized it would take a big defensive effort, and this was our best defensive game of the season.”
CSUSB (14-2) is atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 9-1 league record. In addition to defeating CP Humboldt (9-9), the Coyotes defeated Sonoma State on Thursday night by an 85-74 score. Both teams are among the CCAA top four, and San Bernardino is the top Division II team in the Region.
CSUSB is ranked 15th among NCAA Division II teams in the nation. They have been as high as seventh, and will probably move higher after beating two strong teams.
The game was pretty even for the first 11 minutes, with Humboldt trailing 25-23 when Kareem Clark hit a three-pointer with 8:30 left in the first half. Dontrell Shuler, who scored 22 points to lead all scorers, hit a three-pointer. The Coyotes forced consecutive shot clock violations and ignited a 31-10 streak for the remainder of the first half.
“After those stops, we had the motivation and energy to get pumped up to play defense,” Shuler said. The junior guard also had five assists and was 8-of-13 on his field goal attempts. The Coyotes had five players score in double figures.
The closest Humboldt could get in the second half was 14 points when the Lumberjacks had a 10-2 run to start the second half. Eddie Davis had 15 rebounds, while teammate Darius Mickens added 13. San Bernardino held Humboldt to 35.3 percent from the field and forced 13 turnovers.
CSUSB has seven players who played at Division 1 colleges before coming to San Bernardino. It might seem difficult to bring such a diverse group together to play team basketball, but Newman said that hasn’t been a problem for this team.
“When people come out of the womb, nobody has to teach them to be selfish,” Newman said. “When people ask about how you played basketball, they are usually thinking of how many points you scored. It’s also important how you create points by setting screens or doing other things on offense.”
Newman said the best moment for a coach is when players buy into a system. When speaking with Shuler before speaking with Newman, he talked about the same team-focused point of view.
“Coach (Newman) puts me in the best position to succeed,” Shuler said. “It’s all about playing together.”
Shuler took a difficult path to Cal State San Bernardino. He originally went to Middle Tennessee but had fairly serious ACL and MCL injuries. His father, Donald, died in July 2020. Both of those periods of trouble were subjects of books that he wrote.
Shuler is a communications major and has written three spiritual books. The first one was titled “A Ball and a Bible.” The second book dealt with the loss of his father and is called Unexpected Things, while the third book, “Disruption and Destiny,” is about his recovery from his injuries.
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