Men's Basketball | December 03, 2015
SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team will face a stiff test following a pair of blowout wins when it head to La Jolla to open CCAA play against in-form and No. 23 ranked UC San Diego Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip. It will be the Otters' only game this weekend.
Rob Ponce will call the action for both games live from courtside on KION 101.1 FM.
TRITON 3–DOT NOTES (6–0, 0–0 CCAA): The Tritons have certainly lived up to the lofty expectations of the preseason prognosticators so far, racing to a 6–0, its best start in 16 seasons at the NCAA Division II level…included in that start are wins over (then) No. 4 ranked Cal Baptist and (then) No. 10 ranked Colorado School of Mines…UCSD has one common opponent with the Otters—Notre Dame de Namur—which both teams beat by 40 points…the Tritons return three All–CCAA selections from last season: Sr./F Drew Dyer (14.0 ppg/4.8 rpg); Jr./G Adam Klie (14.4 ppg/5.0 rpg); and Sr./F Hunter Walker (has missed the last three games for unspecified reasons).
WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters had a rough go of it when these teams met in RIMAC Arena last season, where UCSD took an 84–61 decision. MB didn't score its first field goal until the game was more than seven minutes old. It was 43–21 by halftime the Otters couldn't dent the lead in the second half.
Isaiah Smith led the Otters with 16 points. Adam Klie led four Tritons in double figures with 17.
WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: A second consecutive tour de force performance by the Otters led to a second consecutive blowout win. This time, the Otters boat raced Notre Dame de Namur 90–50 Tuesday night in The Kelp Bed. All 11 Otters in uniform played and scored against the Argonauts, with senior
Ryna Nitz leading the pack with a game–high 20 points.
THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: In one of the most egregious cases of poor officiating in collegiate basketball history, the Otters saw a huge upset ripped from their grasp in a 85–80 loss at Fresno State on Dec. 4, 2007.
Watch the replay here.ON THE BLOCKS: The Otters are blocking shots at a near record pace. They are in line for 109 blocks in the regular season alone. The school record is 109 blocks set in 2005–06.
LARGE MARGINS: Two days after equalling the Otter record for largest margin of victory over an NCAA Division II opponent in Sunday's 26–point win (93–67) over Simon Fraser, the Otters blew that record out of the water by defeating NDNU by 40 points (90–50).
WE LOVE THE 80s: The 80s have usually been incredibly friendly territory for the Otters under
Rob Bishop. The 90–83 loss to Saint Martin's snapped a 5–game win streak when the Otters scored 80+ in regulation. MB is 24–4 all–time under Bishop when scoring at least 80 in regulation.
Not to worry, though. Things returned to their natural order with consecutive wins over Simon Fraser (93–67) and NDNU (90–50).
ELEVEN HUNDRED: With 15 points Tuesday versus Notre Dame de Namur,
Alex Fertig moved exactly 100 points away from Brandon Ward's Otter career record (1,231) set from 2010–13.
FERTIG GIVITH…: Alex Fertig continues to solidify his hold on the No. 5 spot on the CSUMB career assist list. He has 14 this season, bringing his career total to 174. Next up is Joe Mitchell in the No. 4 spot. Mitchell posted 180 assists from 2006–09.
…AND FERTIG TAKETH AWAY: Alex Fertig passed D'Shon Cannon for No. 4 on the Otter career steals (86) list with another theft Sunday vs. Simon Fraser. Joe Mitchell owns the CSUMB record with 91 career steals.
20–20–20 VISION: Ryan Nitz is seeing the hoop with 20–20–20 vision after scoring 20+ points in each of his last three games (28 vs. Saint Martin's; 29 vs. Simon Fraser; 20 vs. NDNU). It's the first time in his career that he has scored 20 or more in three consecutive games and the first time an Otter has turned the trick since Brandon Ward Feb. 18–24, 2012.
60 SHALL BE THE NUMBER, NO LESS: With apologies to Monty Python, the number for the Otters shall be 60, not three. Following CSUMB's 66–59 loss at Cal Poly Pomona last season, the Otters are now 0–44 when scoring fewer than 60 points against NCAA Division II opponents dating back to the 2004–05 season, their first at the NCAA Division II level. The last time the Otters scored fewer than 60 points and beat a Division II foe was a 54–53 decision over Cal Poly Pomona in The Kelp Bed on Jan. 29, 2005.
The last time the Otters scored fewer than 60 points and beat any foe was (drum roll please), their 50–47 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 18, 2010.
GO OTTERS!
