February 13, 2009

Box Score

SEASIDE, Calif. – The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team was edged out by CCAA leader Cal State Dominguez Hills, 83-72, on Friday at the Otters Sports Center.

Senior #Steve Monreal# led the Otters with 16 points.  Senior #Joe Mitchell# pulled down 11 of CSUMB's 25 rebounds and a team-high two steals.

Monreal began the game with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Toros answered with a 3-pointer by Michael Hernandez.

Both teams traded baskets until the 11:55 minute mark when Cal State Dominguez Hills went on a 10-0 run.  Senior #Stephen Becker# hit a 3-pointer at the top of the arc to break the Toros' run.

Senior #Jose Sanchez#'s 3-pointer capped a Otters 12-1 run to tie the game at 31-31 with 4:43 remaining in the first half.

Becker hit a 3-pointer at 11 seconds to take a 37-36 lead, but the Toros responded quickly with 6'9 James Cawthorne connecting on a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in the half to take a 39-37 lead into the locker room.

After a miss free throw by Mitchell at 12:18, junior #Sean Jergo# grabbed the rebound and Monreal hit a trey to take a 52-48 lead.  Four straight points by Jerrell Smith gave the lead back to the Toros, 54-52.

At 9:51, junior #Keith Wilson# went to the charity stripe to make both free throws and Monreal added another bucket after stripping the ball from the Toros to make it 56-54 Otters.  The Toros scored seven straight points to retake the lead at 61-56.

After blocking back-to-back shots, the Otters once again closed the gap to 63-61 on a layup by Jergo.  CSUDH's Cawthorne hit a trey and Wilson answered with a layup to make it 66-63 CSUDH.

Smith's bucket at 5:27 raised the Toros lead to 68-63, but Wilson's two free throws cut the score to 68-65 CSUDH.  The Toros connected on 15 of their last 18 free throw chances to secure the victory.

The Otters (13-9, 7-8 CCAA) hosts Cal State L.A. on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.