TURLOCK, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team came out with its hottest start of the season Friday night, racing to a 12–0 lead before the game was four minutes old. But the heat dissipated quickly as Stanislaus State enjoyed its best shooting half of the season to come back and take a 68–61 decision in Fitzpatrick Arena.

Stanislaus entered the night as one of the weakest 3–point shooting teams in the entire West Region. But the Warriors hit 8-of-15 from long range in the opening half to climb out of their early hole and forge a 41–31 halftime lead.

???????CSUMB got to within five at 55–50 and made four consecutive stops to give itself chances to pull closer, but never did.
Stephen Matthews (Sacramento HS) led the Otters with 17 points.
 

---

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Richard Medina made the first of two free throws to give Stanislaus a 66–55 lead with 24 seconds to play.

WINDEX, PLEASE… Although unusually hot shooting got Stanislaus back into the game, the Otters lost this one on the glass. CSUMB was out–rebounded 37–23. The 14 rebound deficit was CSUMB's largest of the season while its five offensive rebounds matched its fewest.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Stephen Matthews 17; REBOUNDS: Jahvon Johnson 6; ASSISTS: Stephen Matthews 6; BLOCKS: None; STEALS: Stephen Matthews 3.

THE LAST WORD… "We played much better than we did last weekend. We just needed to make a couple more clutch shots and it would have been a different outcome. We did a lot of good things tonight and as long as this young group continues to get better we will see some success." – CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters continue their 4–game roadtrip at Sonoma State with a 7:30 p.m. tip on Saturday. The game will be played at the College of Marin in Kentfield due to construction at Sonoma's on campus facility.