BOX SCORE


SAN JOSE, Calif. — The new look Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball concluded its exhibition season in style, using 31 points from sophomore Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) to upend Mountain West Conference foe San Jose State 78–69 at The Event Center.

As they did in their first exhibition at the University of San Diego, the Otters built a double-digit lead against a Division I opponent. This time, however, they withstood a fierce second-half surge by San Jose State to pull away again late for the win.

"It wasn't so much how we executed, it was our effort I was very pleased with tonight," said Head Coach Rob Bishop (@Coach_RBishop). "I thought Alex did a great job tonight, especially getting to the rim and drawing contact."

Fertig's 31 points would be a career high if exhibition games counted in the statistics. It was the first 30-point game by an Otter since Brandon Ward went for 31 at Sonoma State on Feb. 2, 2012.

The teams traded leads early, with San Jose State opening an 11-6 lead seven minutes into the game. But the Otters responded with a quick 9-0 run to retake the lead. The game remained close for the balance of the period and the Otters took just a 40-34 lead into the lockerroom.

But where USD came out on fire in the second half to catch the Otters after CSUMB had built an 18-point lead in their opener, the Otters came out hot in the second half, building their first double-digit lead at 47-34 less than four minutes after the break. The advantage grew to as many as 17 points and was still at 16 (64-48) inside the nine-minute mark when the Spartans made a big charge. An 18-2 run, capped by Jaleel Williams's 3-point play, knotted the score at 66-66 with less than four minutes remaining.

That's when the Otters buckled down, retaking the lead on Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) free throw and an Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS) 3-pointer. They then made 6-of-7 free throws to ease away as the Spartans never caught up again.

In addition to Fertig, Nitz chipped in 14 points and junior guard Devin Murphy (Sacramento/Sierra College) added 13 points and three assists

Monday's game conclude the exhibition season for the Otters. The next time they take the court will be their regular season opener Nov. 19 at Academy of Art. CSUMB returns to The Kelp Bed for its 2013-14 home opener Nov. 23 against Notre Dame de Namur..