BOX SCORE


SAN DIEGO — The new–look Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team made a great showing in its exhibition opener, giving 2013 West Coast Conference semifinalist San Diego all it could handle before falling late in a 90–81 USD win Saturday in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

CSUMB placed four scorers in double figures, with their eight newcomers doing much of the heavy lifting. Chaffey College transfer Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga) led that quartet with 14 points, including four 3–pointers. Sophomore Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS), the 2013 CCAA Freshman of the Year, added 12.

"We played a very good first game tonight with solid contributions from everyone," said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop (@Coach_RBishop). "We shot 19 free throws to their 31, but that's life on the road in the WCC."

Ten of the 12 Otters who played scored Saturday night, including everyone who played more than four minutes. They also shot an impressive 10-of-20 from beyond the arc.

The Otters led for most of the first half, building a 53–36 lead on a Fertig layup on their first possession of the second half. But the Toreros caught fire at that point, out–scoring CSUMB 19–2 over the next four minutes to tie the game at 55–55.

That run was part of a 54–30 second half blitz that gave USD the win.

In addition to Nitz and Fertig, the Otters got 11 points and four assists from juco transfer Devin Murphy (Sacramento/Sierra College) and 10 points from freshman forward Isaiah Smith (Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River HS).

Johnny Dee led four Toreros in double figures with a game–high 28 points.

CSUMB returns to action and concludes its exhibition season on Nov. 4 when it travels north to tackle San Jose State in The Event Center.