SEASIDE, Calif. — For more than 20 minutes, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team sat on the precipice of a second consecutive win over a first place team. But visiting Chico State stepped up its defensive intensity in the second half to roll to a 78–56 win in The Kelp Bed.

CSUMB (9–9, 5–7 CCAA) knocked Cal State Stanislaus from sole possession of first place with a convincing 80–60 win Friday night. But Chico (12–5, 9–3) showed why it's the defending West Region champion over the final 17 minutes.

Chico entered the game as the nation's No. 8 ranked defensive team, holding opponents to 60.9 points per game. CSUMB began the night with the CCAA's No. 2 offense at more than 73 points per game.

For 23 minutes, the immovable object and the irresistible force fought to a virtual stalemate, playing through seven ties and 10 lead changes in the first half alone. But then a 12–0 Chico run three minutes into the second half broke the game open as the Wildcat defense held the Otters to a season–low 23 second half points to pull away.

For its part, the Otter offense did enough to work for open shots, though luck clearly wasn't on CSUMB's side. A microcosm of the night came on CSUMB's final offensive possession when a strip–steal by Daye Turner gave the junior guard a fast break layup opportunity, which rolled of the side of the rim. Jonquis Bouyea followed with an tip–in attempt that also rimmed out. Finally, Tim Darkwa's attempt at a bunny of his own lipped out.

Marquise Washington (Los Angeles/Cerritos College) came off the bench to lead the Otters with a career–high 16 points. Jordan Semple led five Chico players in double figures with 16 points of his own.

CSUMB hits the road to begin the second half of its CCAA schedule with two more games against teams tied for first place in the CCAA. The Otters take on Cal Poly Pomona Jan. 30 and UC San Diego Jan. 31 before returning home to host San Francisco State and Sonoma State Feb. 6–7.