Men's Basketball extended #21 Merced to a pair of overtimes before falling to the Blue Devils, 99-90.  Merced claimed a narrow, 40-36, lead going into halftime, however the Cougars forced the game into overtime.  The Cougars had a chance to win the game in overtime but missed a break-away layup at the buzzer.  The Blue Devils used the lifeline to take control of the next overtime by stuffing 19 points in the next five-minute period to protect their home floor.  Despite the setback, the Cougars showed progress and received standout scoring performances from Freshman Guards Angel Castellanos (pict-L) and Stevie Waiters (pict-R), who achieved personal season-highs with 20 points and 16 points, respectively.  All-WSC Guard Drew Ardouin and Forward TJ Maveety also continued to fill out the box score.  Ardouin, despite a constant double-team that held him to a season low eight points, dished out five assists and grabbed a game and career-high ten rebounds, while Maveety added ten points, eight rebounds and a team-high seven assists.  The loss dropped the Cougars to 1-8 on the season.  However, the Cougars' current record obscures the fact that they have played seven of their nine games within a single-digit margin, while facing five teams in the State's Top 30.  

Cuesta's Cagers return to action this Saturday (5 PM) against Copper Mountain in Joshua Tree, where the Cougars hope to find the what they are looking for- Wins!   The Cougars are also set to host the Home Motors Tournament on December 15 (7 PM) and 16 (5 PM), when Barstow and Hartnell come to San Luis Obispo.