SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team begins its annual Battle of the Bays Saturday (Dec. 14) when it heads to Hayward to battle Cal State East Bay in the first game of a home-and-home series with the Pioneers.

Links for live stats, audio and video are listed above. A reminder that fans in the Monterey Bay area may also listen live over the air on KRXA 540 AM and on Campus Televideo (Ch. 72). Rob Ponce will call the action live from the Conlan Center.

Following Saturday's game, the Otters will be off until Saturday, Dec. 21, East Bay returns the visit to conclude the 2013 calendar year schedule for both teams. Both nights will cap men's/women's doubleheader action with the women tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and the men tipping off at 7:30 p.m.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS (3–4, 1–1 CCAA): Like the Otters, the Pioneers played some high scoring games early but won and lost in more tradition fashion over the weekend. East Bay split its opening weekend of CCAA play, defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills (69–64) and losing to Cal State L.A. (78–74). Senior guard Gabe Kindred, who finished in the top 20 in CCAA scoring last season, leads four Pioneers averaging in double figures at 18.7 ppg. Senior guard Mark Samuels, who had a 26–point night in a loss to Dominican University, follows at 13.4 ppg. Rebounding has been an Achilles' Heel for East Bay, with the Pioneers being out–rebounded by 7.1 rpg. Ryan Hebebrand leads the East Bay boardmen at 5.4 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters rang out 2012 in style, using an early 15–0 run to take control in cruising to a 98–72 win over Cal State East Bay on Dec. 30 in The Kelp Bed. CSUMB extended its 9–point halftime lead to as many as 32 in the second half before settling on the 26–point final margin. Then freshman guard Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) led CSUMB with a career–high 25 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, OTTER EDITION: The Otters opened the game just 3–for–18 from 3–point range yet still led 48–46 midway through the second half. But Cal State Dominguez Hills got consecutive 3–pointers from Pierson Williams and Everett Turner to retake the lead then held on late for a 74–70 win in The Kelp Bed on Dec. 7. Alex Fertig led the Otters with 18 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, PIONEER EDITION: East Bay came back late to tie Cal State L.A. at 66–66, but the Golden Eagles responded with five unanswered points over the ensuing three minutes to hold on for a 78–74 win in Pioneer Gym on Dec. 7. Gabe Kindred led four Pioneers in double figures with 22 points, his third 20–point game of the season.

LARGE MARGIN: CSUMB's 98–72 (26–point) win over Cal State East Bay was its largest margin of victory in the Rob Bishop (@CoachR_Bishop) era of Otter basketball. It's also CSUMB largest margin of victory ever against an NCAA Division II opponent.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: Although they were still members of the California Pacific Conference at the time, the Otters earned their first–ever victory against a CCAA foe by defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills 66–53 on Dec. 14, 2002.

NITZ, SCOTT AMONG CCAA SCORING LEADERS: Junior swingman Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) enters the week averaging 19.0 points per game, good for No. 6 among CCAA scorers. Junior forward Jorey Scott (Lake Tahoe, Nev./Miramar College) sits just outside the top 10 in rebounding, checking in at No. 11 this week (5.6 rpg).

BABY, IT'S COLD INSIDE: The recent stretch of sub–freezing temperatures at night along the Central Coast seems to have affected The Kelp Bed. Thanks to a 7–35 (20 percent) stretch shooting from long range last weekend, the Otters are now just 14–of–54 (25.9 percent) from beyond the arc at home this season.

However, the Otters are shooting the lights out on the road from long range. They made 47.1 (8-of-17) from beyond the arc in the win at Academy of Art (Nov. 19) and 45 percent (9-of-20) at Dominican University (Nov. 26). Including exhibition play, they're 36-of-78 (46.2 percent) from beyond the arc through three road games.

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 18 points vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills pushed him to 463 points. Despite playing just one season plus five games, he's only four points behind Jared Jungworth for a place in the CSUMB career top 20.

TAKE THEM, THEY'RE FREE: It's only five games into the season, but the Otters are shooting free throws at an historically dismal pace. CSUMB enters the weekend converting just 61.7 percent (79–128) from the stripe. The record low for Otter free–throw shooting came when the 2003–04 attempted a school–record 688 free throws but made only 426, a rate of 61.9 percent.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: Although it didn't results in any Ws, the Otters have done a much better job of taking care of the rock in their last three game, turning the ball over 13, 12 and 12 times—their three lowest totals of the season. By contrast, the 2012–13 Otters didn't get under 13 turnovers until the 11th game of the season.

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) on Dec. 15 & 30, 2012 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.