Men's Basketball | November 17, 2014

SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team will see its first home action of the 2014–15 season Wednesday evening when the Penguions of Dominican University migrate down Highway 101 for a 7 p.m. nonconference affair. The Otters and Penguins both opened their seasons last weekend by splitting the games in tournament action and will enter with 1–1 records.



Fans who can't make the game may follow live stats and video  at www.OtterAthletics.com. Fans in the Monterey Bay area may listen to the broadcast on KION 1460 AM with Rob Ponce calling the play–by–play.
 

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DOMINICAN 3–DOT NOTES (1–1 overall): The Penguins earned 22 wins and reached the Pac West championship game in 2013–14…they opened this season by splitting a pair of games at the own tournament, losing to Cal State Stanislaus 60–58 before beating Cal State East Bay 71–62…Sr. G Dominique Taplin scored 23 in the win over East Bay and leads Dominican at 18.0 ppg…Jr. G Christopher Schwartz–Edmisten adds 10.0 ppg…The Penguins have out–rebounded their first two opponents by 15.5 rebounds per game.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Dominican scored the opening basket and never trailed in earning an 86–76 win last season in San Rafael. The Otters got as close as three points in the first half and four points late in the second half but couldn't get over the hump. Ryan Nitz led all scorers with 22 points for the Otters. Myles Carrillo led four Penguins in double figures with 21 points to go along with eight assists.

FOR (HOME) OPENERS: CSUMB is 8–8 in all–time in home openers dating back to the 1998–99 season. The Otters are 4–2 in their last six home openers, including last season's 76–71 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Nov. 23, 2013.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: Richard Jenkins pulled down 18 rebounds, then the No. 2 mark in CSUMB history (now No. 5), in an 80–72 loss to Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 19, 2005.

20–20 VISION: For the first time in CSUMB history, two different Otters have scored 20 or more points in the first two games of a season after Alex Fertig scored 22 against Holy Names and Greg Anderson scored 22 against Cal Baptist. As solo acts, DeVaughn Lamont did it to open the 2005–06 season and Steve Monreal did it to begin 2008–09.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: CSUMB's 34 assists in its opening two games represent the most assists in CSUMB's first two games against NCAA Division II opponents since the 2005–06 season, when they combined for 37 helpers against Seattle Pacific and Northwest Nazarene.

LENDING A HAND: Patrick Lefiti's seven assists against Cal Baptist were the most by an Otter since Brandon Cole dished eight in a win over Cal State East Bay on Dec. 30, 2012.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: The Otters' assist–to–turnover ratio of 34–32 is its best ever in its first two games. They eclipsed the 2005–06 team which had 37 assists against 36 turnovers in its first two games. 

LARGE MARGINS, PART I: Last Friday's 80–67 win over Holy Names marked the fourth largest margin of victory (13 points) in a road game under Head Coach Rob Bishop (2008–present).

LARGE MARGINS, PART II: The 106 points allowed by the Otters at Cal Baptist mark the second most points allowed by CSUMB in the Rob Bishop era. It is just the fourth time the Otters have allowed 100 points in a regulation game at the NCAA Division II level.

No. 10 WITH A BULLET: With 38 points through his first two games, Alex Fertig has brought his career scoring total to 775 points. He still holds on to the No. 10 spot on the Otter career scoring list and needs 73 more to catch Augie Johnston (2005–08) for ninth place at 848. If he maintains his current career scoring average, by late January he should become the fifth Otter to record 1,000 career points.

HE GIVITH AND HE TAKETH AWAY: In addition to his rise up the scoring chart, Alex Fertig moved up a notch on the CSUMB career steals chart as well over the weekend. With four steals in Riverside, he moved into a tie for the No. 9 spot in Otter history with 62, matching the career totals of Matt Dalhamer (1998–01) and Jay Demaestri (2003–04, 05–06). He needs six more steals to catch Davion Berry and Chris Hardy for seventh place. Joe Mitchell holds the Otter career record with 91 steals (2006–09).