FULL NOTEBOOK vs. HUMBOLDT (PDF)  |  LIVE STATS  |  LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO  |  GAMEDAY CENTRAL

SEASIDE, Calif. -- After saying sayonara to 2013 with an entertaining win over East Bay, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team will look to celebrate the new year by beating Humboldt State in The Kelp Bed for the second consecutive season when the Lumberjcks visit Seaside on Jan. 3.

The Otters will conclude their brief homestand by hosting 2013 CCAA Champion Cal Poly Pomona Saturday (Jan. 4). Both games tip-off at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of men's/women's doubleheader action. 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 KRXA 540 AM. Rob Ponce will handle the play-by-play duties while former CSUMB assistant coach Alex Hudson calls the color.

SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS (5–5, 0–4 CCAA): It's difficult to get a good read on the Lumberjacks based on early results. They've lost the only two road games they've played (albeit at Dominican and Cal Poly Pomona) and have played mostly cream puffs (including Pacific Union, Simpson and Linfield College) out of conference. Individually, junior forward David Howard leads the team by averaging 18.7 ppg, including a 32–point night in HSU's win over Pacific Union. Howard also is the team's top boardman at 8.1 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters quite simply gave one away the last time these two teams met, letting a 5–point lead slip through their fingers with 24 seconds remaining in a 108–100 overtime loss at Lumberjack Arena on Feb. 14, 2013. CSUMB placed six scorers in double figures, led by Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) with 18 points and Coley Apsay with 15. Rakim Brown led five Lumberjacks in double figures with 22 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, OTTER EDITION: The Otters broke out of their shooting funk in a big way, converting a season–high 60.7 percent from the field in an 89–83 win over Cal State East Bay in their final game of the 2013 calendar year. The Otters led by as many as 10 points in the first half and nine in the second before holding off a late Pioneer rally. Junior swingman Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) led CSUMB with 20 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, LUMBERJACK EDITION: Humboldt led by as many as six points in the second half but couldn't make that stand up as Cal Poly Pomona came back to win 65–61 in Arcata on Dec. 21. Freshman Jordan Mackie led three Lumberjacks in double figures with 13 points.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: The Otters are a spotless 3–0 when playing at home on January 3. The last time they played at home on a Jan. 3, they never trailed in an 80–63 win over Sonoma State on Jan. 3, 2010. Sean Jergo led the way for CSUMB with a 13–point, 14–rebound double–double.

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR: CSUMB is 7–8 all–time when playing its first game of the calendar year. The Otters are 2–3 when ringing in the new year under Head Coach Rob Bishop (@Coach_RBishop).  Having said that, the Otters haven't won their first game of a new year since defeating Sonoma State 65–61 in Rohnert Park on Jan. 2, 2009.

THE SIX SHOOTERS: The Otters tied a school record by placing six scorers in double figures the last time they met Humboldt State (a 108–100 OT loss in Arcata 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.

NITZ IN RAREFIED AIR: Junior swingman Ryan Nitz brings a scoring average of 20.1 points per game into the new year. That earns him the No. 3 spot on the latest CCAA men's basketball scoring ladder. Nitz trails only Quinton Watkins of Cal State L.A (22.0) and Nefi Perdomo of San Francisco State (21.1). He leads the CCAA in steals (16, 2.3 spg) and No. 4 in 3–point percentage (46.9).

EARNING A SECOND CHANCE: The Otters enter the weekend ranked No. 2 in the CCAA by averaging 13.3 offensive rebounds per game (Cal Poly Pomona leads at 13.5 orpg). The Otters have scored 74 second–chance points this season (an average of 10.6 per game).

BREAKING OUT IN A BIG WAY: The Otter broke Otter of their pre–Christmas slump in a big way, shooting a season–best 60.7 percent (33–of–55) from the floor in the Dec. 21 win over East Bay. Not only was is a season high, it was CSUMB's best shooting performance since it hit 62.7 percent (32–of–51) at Cal State East Bay on Feb. 3, 2011…a span of 70 games.

ICE, ICE BABY: As hot as the Otters were in their Dec. 21 win over East Bay, they were absolutely arctic the previous Saturday (Dec. 14) in Hayward. The Otters shot season–lows of 30.2 percent from the floor (19–of–63) and 17.6 percent from beyond the arc (3–of–17). Take a solid night from Ryan Nitz (10–of–16, 2–of–5) from those equations and the numbers plummet to 19.1 percent and 8 percent respectively.

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 13 points at Cal State East Bay on Dec. 21 pushed him to 488 points. Despite playing just one season plus seven games, he just passed Jared Jungworth (467) and Jon Breazeal (469) for 19th place on the CSUMB career scoring list. Next up is Darryl Anderson, is No. 18 with 510 points.

THE FERTIG 500: With 12 points Friday against Humboldt, Alex Fertig will become the second–fastest player to 500 points in CSUMB history (his 37th appearance). Davion Berry got their the fastest, using a 25–point effort at San Francisco State on Jan. 4, 2011 to reach 500 career points (503) in his 36th Otter appearance.

TAKE THEM, THEY'RE FREE: It's only seven games into the season, but the Otters are shooting free throws at an historically dismal pace. CSUMB enters the weekend converting just 62.0 percent (116–187) 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.

GO OTTERS!