FULL NOTEBOOK vs. CAL POLY POMONA IN PDF FORMAT


SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team hopes to enjoy some home cooking when it returns to The Kelp Bed to open a five-game homestand Friday (Feb. 10) against Cal Poly Pomona. Fans who can't make the game can catch all of the action live on KION 1460 AM and at OtterAthletics.com. Rob Ponce and John Berlin will call the action live from courtside.

CANNED FOOD DRIVE: The CSUMB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is conducting a canned food drive Feb. 6-12 in conjunction with a conference wide drive by the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Collection points include this weekend's men's and women's basketball games. For more information, CLICK HERE.

WARD NAMED CCAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) earned CCAA Player of the Week honors for his Herculean efforts at Sonoma State and Humboldt State. Ward set a CSUMB record with eight three–pointers (in 10 attempts) as part of his 31 point night at Sonoma. He came back with 21 points two nights late in Humboldt.

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Cal Poly Pomona started the season like gangbusters, winning eight straight out of the gate and earning a top 10 national ranking. Since then, however, the Broncos have been slightly better than average, going 6–5. The Broncos feature a balanced attack with only junior guard Mitchel Anderson (14.1 ppg) averaging in double figures. Senior forward Tyquan Brown, a transfer from UC Riverside, has 23 blocked shots and leads CPP with 5.5 rebounds per game.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters laid an egg on Jan. 7 in Pomona, scoring just 15 first half points and a season–low 39 total points in a 66–39 defeat. CSUMB was still within nine points early in the second half when a 14–0 run put the Broncos in control at 42–19 Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) led CSUMB with 10 points and eight rebounds. Mitchel Anderson scored 15 and grabbed nine boards for Pomona.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: The Otters had a great chance at win Thursday night in Rohnert Park, leading late before Sonoma State eked out an 80–77 win. In addition to Brandon Ward's 31 points, Kevin Loustale (Chico HS/Shasta College) added a 14–point, 17–rebound double–double, the first of his Otter career. Three Otters reached double figures Saturday night at Humboldt State, but the Lumberjacks shot 52 percent from beyond the arc en route to a 93–73 win.

Cal Poly Pomona began the week by absorbing a 75–55 loss at Chico State. The Broncos bounced back with a 65–56 win at Cal State Stanislaus to earn a weekend split.

TWO FOR THE BOOKS: As stated earlier, the Otters enjoyed a pair of epic individual performances Feb. 2 at Sonoma State. Brandon Ward drained a school record eight three–point field goals. He broke the record of seven set five times previously, last by Darroll Phillips versus Cal State East Bay on Dec. 4, 2010. Ward also became just the seventh Otter to score 30–plus points against NCAA Division II competition. Here's how his effort stacked up:
In addition to Ward, Kevin Loustale also had a big night. While recording just the second CSUMB double–double of the season (Derrick Anderson went for 15 points and 14 boards against Sonoma State on Dec. 2), his 17 rebounds rank No. 6 on the CSUMB single game list and were the most by an Otter since current Assistant Coach Joe Mitchell grabbed 19 at Cal State L.A. on Jan. 9, 2009.

CLOSE BUT ONE CIGAR: With the exception of their Dec. 3 overtime win against Sonoma State, close games have spelled doom for the Otters so far in 2011–12. The Otters have had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute six times this season, ultimately falling in five of those games. For the record, the games were: Westminster College (L), Sonoma State (W), Notre Dame de Namur (L), Cal State L.A. (L), Cal State East Bay (L) and UCSD (L).

WATKINS A WHISKER AWAY: Sophomore guard Troy Watkins nearly posted his first collegiate double–double last Jan. 28 at Cal State L.A., finishing with nine points and nine rebounds. The nine rebounds were a career high while the nine points matched his career–high (Nov. 22 vs. Cal–Maritime).

START ME UP: By starting Saturday's game at Sonoma State, Brandon Ward continued his steady climb up the CSUMB career starts top 10 list. Ward made his 63rd Otter start that night, solidifying his hold on sole possession of the No. 4 slot. 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. Also of note, Derrick Anderson made his 57th career start at CSULA and holds sole possession of No. 5 on the CSUMB career list.

THE MONTEREY BAY 500: Brandon Ward's final bucket Dec. 10 at Notre Dame de Namur put him in exclusive company. It lifted the junior guard over 500 career points (501). Ward became just the 16th Otter to reach that plateau. He enters the Cal Poly Pomona game with 717 points, solidifying his hold on 12th place. Should he continue at his current pace, Ward will end the regular season as CSUMB's ninth all–time leading scorer.

THE WARD GIVETH… Brandon Ward recorded one assists Saturday at Humboldt State, bringing his career total to 169 assists, good for sole possession of the No. 4 spot. DShon Cannon owns the Otter record with 371.

…AND THE WARD TAKETH AWAY: Brandon Ward grabbed another steal at Humboldt State Saturday night to move past Matt Dalhamer and Jay Demaestri into the No. 7 spot on the CSUMB career list with 63 steals. Joe Mitchell holds the Otter record with 91 steals.

OTTERS AMONG THE CCAA LEADERS: Several Otters entered this week's action ranked among the CCAA leaders. Here are the numbers and ranking entering the week for CSUMB players ranked in the top 10:
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 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.