FULL OTTERS v. KEELHAULERS NOTEBOOK IN PDF FORMAT



SEASIDE, Calif. -- Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball renews an old rivalry when the Keelhaulers of Cal-Maritime visit The Kelp Bed for a nonconference meeting Tuesday (Nov. 22). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tickets for Tuesday's game -- as well as the Otter women's games on Wednesday (Nov. 23) and Saturday (Nov. 26) games are free.


SCOUTING THE KEELHAULERS: The Keelhaulers won five of their first six games before dropping a 67–54 decision at home Saturday night against Montana State–Northern. They already have one NCAA Division II win this season, a 66–56 win at Academy of Art to open the season on Oct. 28. Junior guard Keven Campbell leads Cal–Maritime at 15.7 points per game. He is an impressive 11–of–22 from beyond the arc this season. Senior forward Isaiah Moore is the top rebounder at 7.6 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The last time CSUMB and Cal–Maritime met, the Otters took a 75–53 victory in Vallejo on Jan. 27, 2004. Jay Demaestri led the Otters with a 19–point, 15–rebound double–double. Lee Erby scored a game–high 24 points for Cal–Maritime.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: The Otters almost tasted victory in Thursday's home opener before a late comeback attempt came up inches short in a 72–68 loss to Westminster College. After a Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) three made the score 70–68, J.J. Campbell (Riverside/King HS) tipped away the ensuing inbound pass, but Westminster won the scramble for the loose ball and, with that, the game.

FOR HOME OPENERS: Following Thursday's setback, the Otters are 6–8 in home openers dating back to the 1998–99 season. They are 3–5 since moving to the NCAA Division II level in the 2004–05 season.

HOME SWEET HOME? Thursday's 72–68 loss to Westminster College was CSUMB's fifth consecutive defeat in The Kelp Bed. CSUMB hasn't won in Seaside since an 82–80 victory over Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 29, 2011. Oddly, the Otters earned twice as many road wins (6) as home wins (3) during the 2010–11 season.

WELCOME ABOARD: The Otters welcome nine players to roster this season, including freshman Ben Vincent (Salida/Modesto Christian), Courtland Wharton (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS), Jalen Headspeth (Oakland HS) and Josh Jackson (Carlsbad/Lee HS). Transfer players include Greg Jeffery (Oakland/College of Alameda), Oliver Caballero (Salinas/San Jose State), Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash./Northern Oklahoma) and Jaron Devine (Pomona/Irvine Valley College).

WELCOME BACK: While 60 percent of the 2011–12 roster is new, the Otters return a significant amount of experience as well, including two players who started all 26 games in 2010–11. Juniors Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) and Brandon Ward are the two returning starters. The other returners are juniors J.J. Campbell, James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) and sophomores Troy Watkins (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) and James Thomas (Castro Valley/Bishop O'Dowd).

COMING AND GOING: The Otters face a challenging schedule from a travel standpoint in 2011–12. The Otters open by playing six of the first eight regular season games at home. But then they hit the road for nine of their next 11 before starting a five–game homestand in mid February. In fact, after hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills on Dec. 19, the Otters will not take the Kelp Bed floor for a full month until they host Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 20.

ANDERSON ENJOYS CAREER NIGHT: Senior swingman Derrick Anderson enjoyed a career night last Thursday against Westminster College. He set or tied five personal career highs, including his 25–point outburst which bested his previous high water mark of 15 against Cal State Dominguez Hills (Jan. 11, 2011). He also set career benchmarks with 10 field goals, 17 field goal attempts and five free throws. He equalled his previous best nine rebounds as well.

ON THE REBOUND: Perhaps the biggest number the Otters have posted so far this season was their ginormous [N.B. yes, we know ginormous is not a real word] plus–18 rebounding advantage over Westminster College (39–21). It is CSUMB's biggest rebounding margin in the Rob Bishop era and its largest since the 2005–06 Otters put up a 46–20 edge on the glass in a win over Cal State L.A. on Feb. 24, 2006 — that's a span of 142 games.

START ME UP: By starting Thursday's opener against Westminster College, Brandon Ward continued his steady climb up the CSUMB career starts top 10 list. Ward made his 46th Otter start Thursday, moving him into a tie for ninth place with Jose Sanchez (2007–09). Should Ward start all 26 regular season games in 2011–12, he would end the season with 70 career starts, No. 3 on the all–time list and just six off the record held by current assistant coach Joe Mitchell.

THE WARD GIVETH… Brandon Ward led both teams with three assists against Westminster. Ward now has 134 career assists, good for No. 7 on the CSUMB career list. Next up is Stephen Becker (2005–09) with 147. DShon Cannon owns the Otter record with 371.

…AND THE WARD TAKETH AWAY: Brandon Ward collected his first steal of the season against Westminster and enters the Cal–Maritime game ranked No. 13 on the Otter career steals list with 49. Next up on the list is Khi–Min Jung (2006) with 50. Joe Mitchell hold the Otter record with 91 steals.

NOW THAT'S SMARTS: The Otter men's basketball team boasted three players who earned CCAA All–Academic honors for their classroom work in 2010–11. The Otter triumvirate of James Albert, Brenden Fripp (Santa Barbara/Palo Verde HS) and Brandon Ward made CSUMB the only school to place three men's basketball players on the list. In case you were wondering, Albert posted a 3.65 grade point average as a business administration major. Ward posted a 3.90 GPA as a business administration major.