Cal State Monterey Bay will face two of the toughest teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association this weekend when the men play Cal Poly Pomona on Friday and CSU San Bernardino on Saturday.
Cal Poly Pomona (8-7 overall and 7-3 in conference) has won six of its last seven games. The team is led by 6' 5” forward Larry Gordon, averaging 18.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and 6' 3” guard Angelo Tsagarakis, who is averaging 15 points and 2.8 assists per game. Gordon leads the conference in scoring.
As a team, Cal Poly Pomona is last in team offense in the CCAA, averaging just 64.4 points per game, and second in the CCAA in team defense, allowing just 63.3 points per game. In their first meeting on Dec 1 in Pomona, the Broncos beat the Otters 77-66. Tsagarakis scored 27 in that game and Gordon grabbed 10 rebounds. In that game, CSUMB point guard DShon Cannon scored just 10 points and had three assists, far below his average of 16.5 points and 5.3 assists.
On Saturday the Otters face conference leader San Bernardino. The Coyotes are 15-3 overall and 8-2 in the CCAA. Their two losses in conference were to Pomona and UC San Diego. CSUMB lost to the Coyotes 79-71 on Nov. 30 on their court. Joe Mitchell had an outstanding game for the Otters, scoring 25 and pulling down 12 rebounds. Cannon scored 17, but point guard Marlon Pierce scored 21 and three other Coyotes scored in double figures that day. Although the Otters outrebounded CSUSB 39-34, the Coyotes shot 55 percent in the second half, 51.7 percent overall and CSUMB shot 45 percent from the floor, 42 percent in the second half. CSUSB made six blocks in that game.
Six-foot, Eight-inch center Michael Earl leads the Coyotes in scoring with 13.4 points per game. He is also averaging 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots. Mitchell, though shorter at 6-4, may match up well offensively against Earl and 6-7 Jacob Kernodle will likely play a lot of defense against Earl. Mitchell is coming off a fabulous week in which he averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds in the two wins against San Francisco State and UC San Diego.
Both Friday's and Saturday's game will tip off at approximately 7:30 p.m.
