SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team will try for just the third 2-0 start in program history when it hosts Pac West Conference foe Notre Dame de Namur Saturday (Nov. 23) in The Kelp Bed. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

CSUMB (1-0 overall) is coming off a thrilling 91-87 overtime victory at Academy of Art in its regular season opener on Nov. 19 in San Francisco. A win over NDNU would give the Otters their first 2-0 start since Head Coach Rob Bishop (@Coach_RBishop) and his 2008-09 squad opened the season with seven consecutive wins for CSUMB's best-ever start.

The Otters also opened the 2001-02 season 2-0 while still playing as a member of the NAIA.

Fans who can't make the game can follow all of the action with live video, audio and stats at www.OtterAthletics.com. Fans in the Monterey Bay area can also listen live on KION 1460 AM/101.1 FM. Rob Ponce will handle the play-by-play duties while former CSUMB assistant coach Alex Hudson calls the color.

SCOUTING THE ARGONAUTS (0–3, 0–0 PWC): The Argonauts are off to an 0–3 start but they've played three tough opponents: Western Washington and Simon Fraser (on the road) and Sonoma State, to whom they fell in their home opener Wednesday night, 70–57. Zach Ginter came off the bench to lead NDNU with 14 points against Sonoma. For the season, senior guard Simon Enciso leads four Argonauts averaging in double figures at 13.0 points per game.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters led by eight points with just over three minutes remaining before NDNU made a late charge to win 71–70 on a Tyler Fricke tip–in with one second remaining in Gleason Gym on Dec. 10, 2011. Derrick Anderson and Geoff McIntosh led the Otters with 17 and 14 points respectively. Fricke led five Argonauts in double figures with 18 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The Otters took an entertaining 91–87 decision from Pac West Conference foe Academy of Art in their season opener Tuesday night at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco. CSUMB trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and led by as many as nine in the second before needing overtime to decide the contest. Junior swingman Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) led the way with 21 points in his Otter debut. Sophomore guard Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) scored all 16 of his points after intermission.

FOR OPENERS: The Otters have enjoyed recent success on opening night. Including Tuesday night's win at Academy of Art, they've won 5 of their last 6 openers. Overall, CSUMB is 8–8 on opening night dating back to 1998–99.

OTHER OPENING METRICS: The Otters are now 4–6 when opening on the road to start the season. They're 5–11 all–time when playing their first road game of the season.

FOR HOME OPENERS: CSUMB is 7–8 in all–time in home openers dating back to the 1998–99 season. The Otters are 3–2 in their last five home openers, including last season's 104–52 win over Pacifica University on Nov. 11, 2012.

OTTER–ARGONAUT OPENING NIGHT TRIVIA: In case you were wondering, CSUMB and Notre Dame de Namur have met once before in an Otter home opener. CSUMB took a 73–55 decision from the school then known as the College of Notre Dame on Nov. 24, 1998.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: In a bit of a calendar quirk, this will be just the second time the Otters have ever played on Nov. 23. The only previous Nov. 23 affair was a 74–71 loss to Seattle University played (oddly enough) in NDNU's Gleason Gym on Nov. 23, 2007.

A 30–SOMETHING PERFORMANCE: Although exhibition stats don't count towards official stats, the 31 points scored by sophomore guard Alex Fertig at San Jose State Nov. 4 marked the first 30–point game by an Otters since Brandon Ward scored 31 at Sonoma State on Feb. 2, 2012.

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS: CSUMB grabbed a season–high 56 rebounds Feb. 22 at Cal State San Bernardino. It equaled the most rebounds ever against an NCAA Division II opponent (56 vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills on Mar. 4, 2006) and trails only the 59 rebounds pulled down against Hope International (Nov. 13, 1998) on the CSUMB all–time list.

SHOOTING THE LIGHTS OUT: The Otters continued their hot start shooting from long range by making 47.1 (8-of-17) from beyond the arc in Tuesday's win at Academy of Art. Including exhibition play, they're 27-of-58 (46.6 percent) from beyond through three games.

THE SIX SHOOTERS: The Otters tied a school record by placing six scorers in double figures in the 108–100 loss at Humboldt State on Feb. 14. Alex Fertig led CSUMB with 18 points. Joining him in double figures were Coley Apsay with 15; Kris Gallop (Vallejo/Los Medanos College) and Kevin Loustale with 14 each; and Julian Ball and Brandon Ward with 11 points apiece.

The only previous time six Otters reached double figures in one game came in a 122–118 triple overtime loss at Cal State L.A. on Jan. 18, 2008. The high scorers that game were: D'Shon Cannon (37), Augie Johnston (24), Joe Mitchell (24), Juston Willis (13), Steve Becker (11) and Jose Sanchez (10).

THE FERTIG 400: It might not happen overnight, but all–time leading scorer Brandon Ward may soon find himself looking over his shoulder at Alex Fertig chasing him up the scoring leaderboard. Fertig's 16 points Tuesday at Academy of Art pushed him to 405 points. Despite playing just one season plus one game, he's only 62 points behind Jared Jungworth for a place in the CSUMB career top 20.

ON THE BLOCKS: Then junior forward Kris Gallop posted a team season–high four blocks Jan. 5 at Cal State L.A. That mark is tied for the No. 4 spot in the CSUMB record book and were the most blocks since Andrew Castro blocked five shots in a win at Cal Poly on Nov. 18, 2010. His 26 total blocks in 2012–13 were good for No. 5 on the CSUMB single–season list.

FERTIG AMONG CCAA SCORING LEADERS: Freshman guard Alex Fertig finished No. 10 among the CCAA scoring leaders at 13.4 points per game. He was the only freshman ranked in the top 30. Thanks in large part to those stats, Fertig was named the CCAA Freshman of the Year for 2012–13.

SO CLOSE… The Otters just missed scoring their most points in a regulation conference game during the Rob Bishop era by hanging 98 points on Cal State East Bay Dec. 30. The high water mark is 99 points in a 99–88 win at Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 30, 2009. The 98 points were the third most scored in a regulation CCAA game in Otter history, trailing only the aforementioned game at Stanislaus and 107 points (also at Stanislaus) on Jan. 19, 2007.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: By scoring 180 points versus Academy of Art (82) and Cal State East Bay (98), the Otters set a school record for points in consecutive regulation wins over NCAA Division II competition. The 2006–07 Otters scored 188 points in consecutive games versus Chico State (99) and Cal State Stanislaus (89), but fell in the Stanislaus game, 96–89.

LARGE MARGINS, HOME EDITION: Last season's opening night 104–52 win over Pacifica University set a CSUMB record for largest margin of victory (52 points) in an Otter home win. CSUMB's 78–58 win over Colorado Christian on Nov. 16 was the largest margin of victory in a road game during the Road Bishop era at CSUMB. The previous record was 19 points in an 83–64 win at Cal State East Bay on Feb. 3, 2011.