Men's Basketball | November 08, 2016

FULL NOTEBOOK (PDF FORMAT)

SEASIDE, Calif.— Playing without an exhibition game for just the second time in the Rob Bishop era, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team will jump straight into regular season action when it hosts the CCAA/GNAC Challlenge Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12 in The Kelp Bed.

CSUMB (14-13 in 2015-16) will face Concordia-Portland Friday at 7 p.m. and Central Washington Saturday at 3 p.m. Other tournament games will feature CCAA rival Cal State San Bernardino vs. Central Washington Friday at 5 p.m. and again vs. Concordia-Portland Saturday at 3 p.m.

Video coverage of the games will be available at OtterAthletics.com. The radio call returns to KION 101.1 FM once again with Rob Ponce returning to handle the play-by-play duties and Alex Hudson provided the color.
 

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CAVALIER 3–DOT NOTES (7–20, 5–15 GNAC): Concordia is in its second year of transition from NAIA to full NCAA Division II membership…they return their two leading scorers in Sr./P Drew Martin (15.3 ppg) and Sr./G Latrell Wilson (14.9 ppg)…Martin also led the Crusaders in rebounding (6.7 rpg), assists (55), blocks (24) and steals (38)…9 of the 16 players on the Crusader roster are transfers, including Sr./F Tré Vance, who comes from Div. I Oral Roberts.

WHEN LAST WE MET: This will be the first meeting between the Otters and Cavaliers in men's basketball.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The 2015–16 season came to a tough end when a pair of 3–point attempts in the closing seconds wouldn't fall in a 64–61 CCAA Tournament loss at Humboldt State on Mar. 1. Ryan Nitz closed his collegiate career with a 16–point, 10–rebound double–double to lead the Otters.

THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN… Ryan Nitz  missed a 3–pointer with five seconds remaining. Although the official stats don't list it, the resulting rebound found its way to Mateo Jones on the left wing, who had a final 3–point attempt blocked in the final second.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: The Otters scored the most points in the Rob Bishop era when they opened the 2012–13 season with a 104–52 win over Pacifica University on Nov. 11, 2012. Eleven different Otters scored in the game, led by Brandon Ward, who poured in 19 points in 21 minutes.

FOR OPENERS: The Otters have enjoyed recent success on opening night, winning 6 of their last  openers. Overall, CSUMB is 9–9 on opening night dating back to 1998–99. The Otters are 6–2 under Rob Bishop dating back to the 2008–09 season.

FOR HOME OPENERS: The Otters are 11–7 in home openers dating back to the 1998–99 season. CSUMB is 6–2 in home openers under Rob Bishop.

TOURNEY TIME: The Otters are 17–34 in regular season tournament play. They haven't hosted a tournament since 2008, when they beat Seattle Pacific (68–65) and Concordia–St. Paul (86–80).

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 last Nov. 21 snapped a 5–game win streak when the Otters scored 80+ in regulation. Not to worry, though. Things returned to their natural order and the current streak in such games now stands at seven wins. MB is 30–4 all–time under Bishop when scoring at least 80 in regulation.

ON THE BLOCKS, TEAM RECORD PACE EDITION: The Otters finished the 2015–16 season No. 2 in the CCAA with 102 blocks (3.8 bpg). That mark was good for the No. 2 season in CSUMB history. The MB record is 109 blocks set in 2005–06.

ON THE BLOCKS, INDIVIDUAL RECORD PACE EDITION: Gregg Polosky's 38 blocked shots last season rank No. 3 on the Otter single season list. Bill Curry set the Otter season record of 40 blocks during the 2000–01 season. Darryl Anderson had 39 in 2005–06

DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU: Alex Fertig (1,370 points) set the MB career scoring record last season. He has a 460 point lead over Evan Zeller in the Otter career scoring race. Zeller currently sits in 9th place with 910 points. Zeller needs 36 points to catch D'Shon Cannon for the No. 8 spot.

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.