Derrick Anderson just missed his second double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and nine boards.
BOX SCORE
SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team gave itself a glorious chance at victory only to fall at the buzzer to San Francisco State, 81–78, Saturday night in The Kelp Bed.
CSUMB trailed early but roared back from a 12-point deficit take a 64-59 lead with less than eight minutes remaining. A Daniel Trammel jumper gave SFSU the lead for good at 71-69, but the Otters didn't go down without pulling off a near miracle comeback.
Trailing by seven at 80-73,
Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) drained a three to cut the deficit to 80-76 with 7.3 seconds to play. After a Gator free throw made it a five-point gave with 6.1 seconds remaining, the Otters raced down court where Nefi Perdomo inexplicably fouled
Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) attempting a three-pointer with 3.1 second on the clock.
A
nderson made the first two free throws to cut the deficit two then intentionally missed the third. But SFSU's Chad Delaney couldn't handle the rebound, dropping it out of bounds to
give the Otters a shot to tie with just under two seconds to play. That's when the clock struck midnight on the Cinderella comeback attempt. The Gators did a solid job defending CSUMB's inbounds play and Anderson's desperation attempt to tie missed the mark.
Ward led the Otters with 18 points including an 8-for-8 effort from the free-throw line. Anderson just missed his second double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and a game-high nine boards. CSUMB also got 13 points off the bench from
Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash.) and 10 from
James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS).
Griffin Reilly led four Gators in double figures with 19 points.
CSUMB has a quick turnaround, hosting Cal State East Bay Tuesday, Feb. 14 in The Kelp Bed. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
