Men's Basketball | January 03, 2017

SEASIDE, Calif. — Fresh off a 13-point win at Humboldt State to close the 2016 calendar year, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team returns home to kickoff 2017 by hosting No. 15 UC San Diego Thursday (Jan. 5th) and Cal State San Marcos Saturday (Jan. 7th) for a brief homestand.

Both games are part of men's/women's doubleheader action. The men will tipoff Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

As ever, fans who can't make it to The Kelp Bed can watch live on Campus Televido Ch. 73.1 or online at www.OtterAthletics.com. Kevin Richardson will have the call Thursday night and Kirsten Fairchild will have the mike Saturday.

Both games will be available on the radio via KION 101.1 FM and the iHeartRadio app. Rob Ponce will handle the play-by-play duties and Alex Hudson will add the color.
 

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TRITON 3–DOT NOTES (11–2, 6–0 CCAA): The Tritons enter the new year ranked No. 15 in the NABC Coaches poll…they begin 2017 as the last undefeated team in CCAA play…the Tritons advanced to the West Region championship game last season, falling to host Western Oregon 60–55…So./C Chris Hansen leads three Tritons scoring on double figures at 14.8 ppg (No. 7 CCAA)…Sr./F Adam Klie adds 13.5 ppg and a team–best 6.8 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters punched the No. 13 ranked Tritons in the mouth by opening the game with a 22–2 run en route to a 71–60 win in The Kelp Bed on Jan. 16 last season. Ryan Nitz exploded for 31 points while Julien Ducree chipped in 11 rebounds.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The Otters found their short–handed sea legs midway through the first half, using runs of 17–0 and 30–5 to subdue Humboldt State 70–57 Saturday night in Arcata. Freshman guard Kevin Warren came off the bench to score a team season–high 25 points. Gregg Polosky added a 14–point, 10–rebound double–double.

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Jonquis Bouyea (Seaside HS) grabbed the rebound off a missed Jeryn Lucas 3–point attempt with 1:24 remaining and the Otters leading 70–57.

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: Historically, Jan. 5 has been unkind to the Otters, who own a 1–6 record on the date. CSUMB's only Jan. 5 win came back in 2001, when it defeated Menlo College 74–58.

C.S.U.M. "D": Defense was the key in the win at Humboldt as the Otters held the high–flying Lumberjacks to a season–low 57 points, more than 18 points below its CCAA–leading average of 85.3 ppg entering the night. The 57 points were the fewest scored by the Lumberjacks in 78 games dating back to the 2013–14 season.

WARREN'S WORLD: Freshman guard Kevin Warren had the biggest night by an Otter this season, scoring a personal and team best 25 points. It was Warren's second 20–point game (he had 22 at Point Loma University on Nov. 19) and the fourth by an Otter this season.

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.

CSUMB—THE M STANDS FOR M*A*S*H… The Otters finished their Dec. 10 game at Sonoma State with just seven healthy players. The Otters dressed just eight players for the third consecutive game Saturday at Humboldt State. Currently, three starters (Evan Zeller, Mateo Jones, Jack Biebel) are expected to medical redshirt this season.

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 88–59 loss at Chico State Thursday, the Otters are now 0–46 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.

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 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 their 50–47 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 18, 2010.