SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team begins the second round of California Collegiate Athletic Association play looking to make a move in the standings the hard way. They begin the homestretch with a 4-game roadtrip that starts at Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday (Jan. 31) and Cal State L.A. Saturday (Feb. 1) .

As always, fans who can't make it to the games may listen live on www.OtterAthletics.com. Rob Ponce will call the action from courtside. Friday's live stats will be available at www.GoToros.com. Note that there will be no live video availble at Cal State Dominguez Hills, though live video will be available the following night at Cal State L.A. (www.CSULAathletics.com).

After this weekend, the Otters will conclude their roadtrip by traveling to Cal Poly Pomona (Feb. 6) and Humboldt State (Feb. 8). They retu5n to the friendly confines of The Kelp Bed to host UC San Diego (Feb. 14) and Cal State San Bernardino (Feb. 15).

SCOUTING THE TOROS (5–14, 2–10 CCAA): The Toros opened the season respectably, winning three of their first five games. They've fallen on hard times recently, however, dropping seven in a row and 10 of their last 11 entering Friday's game versus the Otters. Givon Crump and DeShaun Freeman lead a balanced Toro offense at 12.2 and 10.6 points per game respectively. Darnell Martin leads the boardmen at 6.4 rebounds per game.

WHEN LAST WE MET: A cold shooting night doomed the Otters as they fell to the Toros, 74–70, in The Kelp Bed on Dec. 7. The Otters led at the half, 36–34, and led as late as 48–46 before a 17–4 run gave the Toros the lead for good. Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) led the Otters with 18 points. Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) added 17. Givon Crump led all scorers with 22 points for Dominguez Hills.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, OTTER EDITION: For the second consecutive Saturday, the Otters had a chance to win with a buzzer beater. This time, however, the shot rolled around the rim and out as the Otters fell to Sonoma State, 68–66. The Otters got 15 points apiece from Ryan Nitz and Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS).

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED, TORO EDITION: The Toros played tough at No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino, tying the game at 42–42 early in the second half before the Coyotes eased away late to win 78–72 in Coussoulis Arena. Pierson Williams led four Toros in double figures with 18 points. Givon Crump added 15 points despite going 2–for–11 from the field.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: Sean Jergo blocked four shots, then the No. 3 mark in the CSUMB single game record book, to lead the Otters to a 78–71 win at Chico State on Jan. 31, 2009. Current Otter Kris Gallop (Vallejo/Los Medanos College) later matched Jergo's total against Cal State L.A. on Jan. 5, 2013.

A FORMER OTTER MOVES ON UP: Former Otter Steve Becker took the reins as interim head coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills for last Friday's game at UC San Diego. He is expected to serve in that capacity for the remainder of the season. Former Head Coach Damaine Powell is no longer with the program for unspecified reasons.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: The Otters have committed just 34 combined turnovers in their last three games. It's their best 3–game run taking care of the ball this season.

THE FANTASTIC FIVE: For the second time this season, five Otters scored in double figures in the Jan. 25 win at Chico State. The scoring quintuplets were: Alex Fertig (15), Ryan Nitz (15), Greg Anderson (Murietta/Palomar College) 14, Kris Gallop (11) and Devin Murphy (Sacramento/Sierra College) (10). In case you're wondering, the other occurrence was an 89–83 win over Cal State East Bay on Dec. 21.

WHAT A STEAL: Junior forward Greg Anderson set a personal career high and tied the CSUMB team high for the season by grabbing five steals Saturday versus Sonoma State. Ryan Nitz also collected five steals in back–to–back games versus Cal State East Bay on Dec. 14 and 21.

STEALING IS TEAM GAME: Led by Anderson, the Otters compiled 13 steals in the Sonoma State game. That's a season high and tied for No. 15 in the CSUMB single–game record book.

FERTIG FLYING HIGH… Not only was the 30–point night by Alex Fertig Jan. 10 at San Bernardino a career–high, it marked the first 30–point game by an Otter since Brandon Ward scored 31 at Sonoma State on Feb. 2, 2012.

…WITH AN ASTERISK: Though it didn't count on the official stats, the San Bernardino game was actually Fertig's second 30–point game of the season. He dropped 31 points on San Jose State in the Otters' 78–69 exhibition win over the Spartans on Nov. 4.

No. 16 WITH A BULLET: Alex Fertig continues to shoot up the CSUMB career scoring chart. His 30 points Jan. 10 raised his career total to 548 (now 582), vaulting him from 18th to 16th place past Will Brown (537) and Dante Green (538). Next up is No. 15 Mike Miller (615).

SECOND TO 500: With 15 points in the Jan. 3 win over Humboldt, Alex Fertig became 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.

DOUBLE THE FUN: After going eight weeks without a double–double, the Otters have posted three in the last three weeks. Kris Gallop got his first of the season (10 and 11) at San Bernardino (Jan. 10). That came exactly seven days after Greg Anderson earned his first with an 18–point, 11–rebound effort in a win over Humboldt State on Jan. 3. Anderson added his second (14 and 10) Saturday at Chico State.

SCOTT ON THE REBOUND: Jorey Scott came off the bench to grab 10 boards in the Jan. 24 win over San Francisco State, he became the third Otter this season to collect double–figure rebounds in a game. Greg Anderson has done it twice, with a high game of 11. Kris Gallop (Vallejo/Los Medanos College) owns the Otter season high with 14 against Humboldt State on Jan. 3.