PORTLAND, Ore. -- After leading by as many as seven in the first half, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team could not hold on in the second half en route to a 5-point loss, 72-67, to Central Washington on Saturday afternoon in the Otters second game of the CCAA/GNAC Challenge.
CSUMB jumped out to a seven-point lead at the 12:20 mark, part of a 8-2 run capped off by a fast break layup by
Koen Sapwell. However, the Wildcats stormed back going on an 8-0 run of their own to take a one-point lead at the 10 minute mark. A back-and-forth game took place in the final 10 minutes of the first half, ending with a 3-pointer by
Chris Turner give the Otters a 39-37 lead at the break.
The Otters held the lead for the first 32 seconds of the second half before allowing CWU back into it. CSUMB lead by as many as five in the second half, but could not hold on to the narrow advantage as the Wildcats found the final lead in the final seconds handing the Otters a 72-67 loss.
Mateo Jones led a trio of Otters in double figures with 15 points.
Stephen Matthews pitched in 13, while newcomer
Brian Garrett contributed 11. Jones also led the team in rebounds with nine defensive boards.
THE GAME WAS OVER WHEN... Jonquis Bouyea missed a layup with 17 seconds remaining and the Otter trailing by five.
SENIOR SEASON... Through two games Jones' senior season is off to a good start by leading the team in scoring in the first two contests. Jones led CSUMB with 24 points against Concordia-Portland on Friday night.
PERFECTLY FREE... Jones was perfect from the free-throw line on Saturday going 4-for-4 from the stripe.
STAT PACK... POINTS: Jones -- 15;
REBOUNDS: Jones -- 9;
ASSISTS: Bouyea -- 4;
BLOCKS: NONE;
STEALS: Matthews -- 3
THE FINAL WORD... "During the first 20 minutes of tonight's game we showed signs of the team we could be. However, when the going got tough, we reverted back to some of the same bad habits that got us beat on Friday night. While it is obviously disappointing to lose, I am proud of the guys for how hard they played all weekend. Hopefully, we can figure out a few things during our week of practice and be better prepared when we hit the road next week for L.A. and the start of conference play."
-Head Coach Isaac Williams
THEY'VE GOT NEXT... After a quick two-game nonconference schedule, Monterey Bay will begin CCAA play when it heads to Cal State L.A. on Friday, Nov. 17. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
GO OTTERS!
