SEASIDE, Calif. — What the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team lacks in experience it more than makes up for in moxie. CSUMB rallied from 20 points down in an epic comeback bid that fell just short as Central Washington held on to win 93–87 Saturday evening in The Kelp Bed. It was the final game of the 2016 CCAA/GNAC Challenge.

CSUMB pulled to within three points twice in the final five minutes, but couldn't quite reach the summit before a pair of key shots late escape.

A freshman led the Otter for the second consecutive game. The time, Jahvon Johnson (Clovis North HS) did the honors,scoring 17 points. Fellow freshman Kevin Warren (Oakland/St. Mary's HS) scored 15 points for the second consecutive game while a third freshman Stephen Matthews (Sacramento HS) chipped in 12 points and a game–high four assists..
 

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THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Central Washington broke the Otter press and Sage Woodruff laid it in to make it 93–87 Wildcats with five seconds remaining.

WELCOME TO THE RAFT… Junior guard Shawn Smith (Jacksonville, Fla.), a transfer from Lee College and Texas A&M, made his first Otter appearance Saturday night. He finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

ALL–TOURNAMENT TEAM… Jahvon Johnson earned a spot on the CCAA/GNAC Challenge all–tournament team after scoring 29 points with seven rebounds and three assists in the two games. Other members of the team included Dom Hunter and Naim Ladd of Central Washington; Phil Reed of Cal State San Bernardino and Latrell Wilson of Concordia–Portland.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Jahvon Johnson 17; REBOUNDS: Shawn Smith/Gregg Polosky 7; ASSISTS: Stephen Matthews 4; BLOCKS: Shawn Smith 3; STEALS: Shawn Smith 3.

THE LAST WORD… "We'll learn. We didn't quit which I thought was great. Our effort was really good. We're still trying to figure out how to play with guys. We've got a little ways to go but I'm really excited. We have to build on the last 20 minutes." – CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters hit the road for a pair of games against Pac West Conference foes beginning Wednesday (Nov. 19) at Notre Dame de Namur. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.