Men's Basketball | January 25, 2017

GAMEDAY CENTRAL  |  FULL NOTEBOOK (PDF)

SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team returns to The Kelp Bed for a brief 2-game homestand this weekend when Cal Poly Pomona visits Friday (Jan. 27) and Humboldt State visits Saturday (Jan. 28). Both games tipoff at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcaps of men's/women's doubleheader action.

Fans who can't make it to The Kelp Bed can follow the action online and over the air as usual. Rob Ponce and Alex Hudson will have the radio calls on KION 101.1 FM while Kevin Richardson has the mike for the telecast (Ch. 73 and OtterAthletics.com).

Choose the Gameday Central link for more details.

The Otters will be looking to make it two in a row versus both Pomona and Humboldt. CSUMB defeated Pomona 67-65 in their last meeting last February and defeated Humboldt 70-57 in their first meeting this season.
 

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BRONCO 3–DOT NOTES (5–10, 3–7 CCAA): The Broncos are having a very unBronco–like season…their 10 losses already are their most in six seasons and they're in danger of finishing under .500 for just the second time in 17 seasons under Greg Kamansky…snapped a 4–game losing streak with a pair of home wins last weekend, including a 63–60 win over nationally–ranked Chico State…So./G Jordan Ogundiran, who looked so promising as a freshman, has continued his stellar play and leads CPP at 13.1 ppg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: In one of the most thrilling games in Otter men's basketball history, Alex Fertig's 3–pointer as time expired gave the Otters a 67–65 win over then No. 14 Cal Poly in Kellogg Gym last season. Gregg Polosky grabbed a rebound off an Evan Zeller miss and found Fertig unguarded for the game–winner.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The tragic theme continued for the Otters as they carried a lead into the second half only to see foul–trouble plague the injury–shortened bench late in a 68–57 loss at Cal State L.A. Kevin Warren came off the bench to lead the offense with 14 points.

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Travis Hammond knocked down a 3–pointer with 46 seconds remaining to make it 66–55 L.A.

NEW FEATURE: STATISTICALLY OVER… You'll notice a new feature in the CSUMB notebooks (and postgame recaps) called, The Game Was Statistically Over When…. This uses a formula created by famed sabermatician Bill James to calculate the precise second at which one team gained a lead which (statistically) could not be overcome.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: Jay DeMaestri pulled down 15 rebounds—then the No. 3 rebounding total in CSUMB history—to help the Otters defeat Cal–Maritime 75–53 on Jan. 27, 2004.

MR. GLASS… Julien Ducree enjoyed another strong rebounding game by finishing with 10 rebounds Saturday at Cal State L.A. It marked the sixth time this season he has reached double figures and his third such game in his last five outings.

TAKE THEM, THEY'RE FREE: The Otters set a school record for free–throw percentage in a game last Friday night at CSUDH, making 17–of–19 (.895). The previous mark of .857 (18–21) came against UCSD earlier this season (Jan. 5, 2017)

TRI DOUBLE–DOUBLES: With 10 points and 12 rebounds at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Julien Ducree posted his team–leading third double–double of the season. Gregg Polosky has two of his own and Matt Bejsovec has one this season as well.

AMONG THE CCAA LEADERS: Julien Ducree enters Friday's game as the highest ranked Otter on the CCAA statistical boards checking in at No. 5 on the rebounding chart at 7.5 rpg. Ducree and Gregg Polosky are No. 8 on the blocks chart (1.1 bpg). Kevin Warren is CSUMB highest ranked scorer at 13.3 ppg (No. 13). 

WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? The final five minutes of games have been all but irrelevant for the Otter men's and women's basketball teams this season. The Otter men are 3–0 when leading after 35 minutes and 0–14 when trailing after 35 minutes. The women, meanwhile, are 4–0 when leading after 35 and 0–13 when trailing after 35.

AND THE LITTLE ONES SHALL LEAD THEM: With the entire senior class on track to medically redshirt the season, the Otter padawans will have to lead the way. The Otter roster now features just two active upperclassmen, both juniors. The rest of the roster includes four freshmen, four sophomores.

WE LOVE THE 80s: The 80s have usually been incredibly friendly territory for the Otters under Rob Bishop. The Nov. 12th 93–87 loss to Central Washington snapped a 7–game win streak when the Otters scored 80+ in regulation. CSUMB is 30–5 (.857) all–time under Bishop when scoring at least 80 in regulation.

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 68–57 loss at Cal State L.A. Saturday, the Otters are now 0–49 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, 20