TURLOCK, Calif. — Friday was "Pack The House Night" in Fitzpatrick Arena and the 1,429 in attendance got their money's worth. But senior guard Devin Murphy (Sacramento/Sierra College) sent most of them home unhappy when hit one of the biggest shots of his Otter career to lift Cal State Monterey Bay to a thrilling 66–65 win over Stanislaus State Friday.

Murphy's jumper with 16 seconds remaining was the last of an incredible 19 lead changes in a game destined to be taken by the last team to score. Stanislaus had one final chance to win, but Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga HS) blocked Kyi Thomas' layup attempt with three seconds remaining and Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS) secured the rebound to seal the game.

"The packed Stanislaus crowd was on us all night—and we didn't score as well as we have been lately—but our defense kept us in the game," said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. "Down the stretch we had some huge plays from Greg Polosky and Julian Ducree, before the huge shot from Devin Murphy. We got it done. Any win on the road in this league is great," Bishop continued. "Stanislaus played a very good game tonight and I can't be more proud of how we played."

Nitz led all scorers with 25 points. Zeller and Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) chipped in 12 points apiece. Polosky pulled down a career–high 11 rebounds. Patrick Lefiti (5) and Fertig (4) combined for nine of CSUMB's 16 assists.

The win was the third in a row and fifth in seven games for CSUMB (10–10, 8–6 CCAA) which pulled into a tie with Humboldt State for the No. 4 seed in the CCAA Tournament race with six games remaining. It completed an Otter season sweep of Stanislaus (5–13, 4–9).

The Otters will continue their 4–game roadtrip Saturday with a tough test at No. 14 ranked Chico State. It will be the only regular season meeting between the Otters and Wildcats this season.