BOX SCORE

TURLOCK, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team fought to the wire, but it couldn't finish off a valiant comeback attempt as Cal State Stanislaus held on for a 96–85 win in CSUMB's 2011–12 season finale Friday night in Fitzpatrick Arena.

CSUMB got another monster effort from junior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) who poured in 28 points to finish the season averaging 16.1 points per game, tied for the eighth best scoring season in Otter history. Ward scored 18 of his points in the second half, helping the Otters trim a 21–point deficit in the final 12 minutes to seven before the comeback ran out of time.
The Otters also got career highs of 16 points and six rebounds from junior center Jaron Devine (Pomona/Irvine Valley JC) as well as a 16–point night from junior guard Geoff McIntosh (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor HS). James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) added 11 points, including his first collegiate three–pointer.

CSUMB stayed within striking distance throughout the first half, but the Warriors began pulling away early in the second period. A Dan Daviess three–pointer gave Stanislaus its biggest lead at 65–44 before the Otters started chipping away. But every time they took seven or eight points off the lead, the Warriors managed to stop the bleeding.

Trailing by 15 with 67 seconds to play, the Otters began trading fouls for time, and the strategy worked as the chipped as they chipped seven points off the deficit over the next half minute. They got as close as seven points at 92–85 before Stanislaus made its final four free throws to seal the win.

In addition to the Otter scorers, Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) grabbed a game–high eight rebounds and passed for a career–high seven assists.