BOX SCORE


RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Cal State Monterey Bay had enough to hang with Big West Conference member UC Riverside for awhile, but playing without 60 percent of its projected starting lineup eventually took its toll as UCR pulled away late for a 77–56 win Saturday night at the UCR Student Rec Center. It was the exhibition opener for both teams.

“I thought we played well for the first 30 minutes,” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. “Their physicality eventually wore us down and we made some silly turnovers when we got tired, but for the most part we played well.”

CSUMB trailed by nine, 30–21, early in the second half before a 17–9 run, capped by a Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS) three–pointer, gave the Otters their first lead at 39–38. But the Highlanders responded with a 15–4 run of their own to pull ahead 53–42 midway through the period. CSUMB never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

“I wanted to see how we would defend and I wanted to see how we would handle their pressure and for the most part we did those things,” said Bishop. “I thought we did some good things and we exposed some things we need to build on.”

McIntosh led the way in his Otter debut, scoring 15 points on 5–of–11 shooting from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Courtland Wharton (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) acquitted himself well in his first college performance, chipping in 11 points with three steals, three assists and a blocked shot. The Otters also got a 10–point night from Riverside native Troy Watkins (Woodcrest HS).

“I really thought Courtland had a good game and James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) played very well despite not scoring,” said Bishop. “We had Geoff playing out of position tonight due to the players we are missing, so it is harder to evaluate his performance, although he shot it well.”

2011 All–Big West team member Phil Martin led UCR with 33 points. Elliott Berry grabbed a game–high 10 rebounds for the Highlanders.

The Otters will conclude the exhibition part of their schedule when they host Holy Names University Saturday, Nov. 5. Tipoff in the Kelp Bed is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.


CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY • 56
Jaron Devine 0-0 0-2 2; Troy Watkins 3-7 2-3 10; Brandon Ward 3-11 3-3 9; Jalen Headspeth 2-8 2-2 6; Geoff McIntosh 5-15 0-0 15; Greg Jeffery 0-0 0-0 0; Courtland Wharton 5-6 0-0 11; Josh Jackson 0-2 0-0 0; James Thomas 0-6 0-0 0; James Albert 1-5 1-2 3. Totals: 19-60 10-12 56

UC RIVERSIDE • 77
Daymond Cowlah 1-5 0-0 2; Kareem Nitoto 3-10 0-0 7; Phil Martin 15-22 2-4 33; Kevin Bradshaw 2-4 0-0 4; BJ Shearry 5-8 4-5 14; Dominique Taplin 1-1 0-0 2; John Gilliam 1-3 0-0 2; Elliott Berry 1-2 0-0 2; Harrison Gaines 2-4 0-0 4; TJ Burke 2-5 0-0 4; David Chavarria 0-0 0-2 2; Austin Quick 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 34-65 6-11 77

Halftime: UCR 28-21. 3-pt. FG: CSUMB 8-27 (McIntosh 5-11, Watkins 2-4, Wharton 1-1, Ward 0-3, Headspeth 0-3, Thomas 0-5); UCR 3-7 (Nitoto 1-1, Quick 1-1, Martin 1-3, Gilliam 0-2. Rebounds: CSUMB 33 (Albert, Headspeth 6); UCR 38 (Elliot 10). Assists: CSUMB 12 (Albert, Wharton 3); UCR 15 (Cowlah 5). Turnovers: CSUMB 19, UCR 14. Blocks: CSUMB 2 (Albert, Wharton); UCR 7 (Sherry 5). Steals: CSUMB 6 (Wharton 3); UCR 12 (Nitoto, Shearry 4). Techincals: None. Officials: Scyphers, Lopez, King. Attn: 402