Men's Basketball | November 15, 2017

SEASIDE, Calif. — Cal State Monterey will continue its 4–game, season–opening roadtrip by heading to Southern California for its first two CCAA games of the season. The Otters will play at Cal State L.A. Friday (Nov. 17) and Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday (Nov. 18) before finally returning to The Kelp Bed for their first home games the following week.

Tip-off both nights will be at 7:30 p.m. and the nightcap of men's/women's doubleheader action.

In case you're wondering, this will be the earliest the Otters have ever opened conference play (CCAA or Cal–Pac). The previous record for a first conference game came when the Otters played at San Francisco State on Nov. 21, 2010.

Fans who can't make it to the L.A. area for the games can listen to Rob Ponce's call both night. The audio stream will be on OtterAthletics.com only Friday night then back on KION 101.1 FM and iHeartRadio Saturday night.

Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills will both offer live stats and live video streams. The links can also before on OtterAthletics.com.
 

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GOLDEN EAGLE 3–DOT NOTES (2–1, 0–0 CCAA): The box scores haven't been pretty, but Cal State L.A. is off to a 2–1 start that includes a 77–75 win over highly–regarded Dixie State…other win came in the season opener versus Holy Names (60–49)…Jr./F Elliot Smith (12.3 ppg), So./G Garrett Carter (12.0) and Jr./P Jihad Woods (12.0) sit atop a balanced scoring table…Sr./F Jalyn Pennie (7.7 rpg) is the top Golden Eagle boardman.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The short–handed Otters lead midway through the second half before eventually fading down the stretch in a 68–57 Golden Eagle win on Jan. 21, 2017 in L.A.. Kevin Warren led three Otters in double figures with 14 points while Julien Ducree pulled down 10 boards. Jordan Wilson led all scorers with 19 points for the Golden Eagles.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The Otters led at the half, but a Wildcat spurt midway through the second half helped Central Washington hold on for a 73–67 win in the final game of the CCAA/GNAC Crossover in Portland, Ore. Mateo Jones led three Otters in double figures with 15 points. Stephen Matthews added 13 points and three steals.

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Marc Rogers hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining to give Central a 72–65 lead.

WELCOME ABOARD ISAAC WILLIAMS: Isaac Williams comes to CSUMB after posting a 120–41 record in five seasons as head coach at Eastern Oregon University. He replaced Rob Bishop, who went 86–157 in nine seasons with the Otters. Williams led EOU to a 24–9 record and the second round of the NAIA Championship Tournament in 2016–17.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: The Otters will enter Friday's game at Cal State L.A. looking for their first win ever on a Nov. 17. CSUMB is 0–6 in its previous Nov. 17 appearances.

FOR (CCAA) OPENERS: The Otters are 5–8 all–time in CCAA opening games, dating back to the 2004–05 season. When opening the CCAA schedule on the road, CSUMB is 0–4, including an 81–62 loss at UC San Diego in its last such game on Dec. 4, 2015.

SWEET HOME CALIFORNIA: The Otters are happy to be back in Cali as they haven't had much success historically outside of the Golden State. With two setbacks last weekend in Portland, CSUMB now owns a 6–29 record in regular season competition outside California's borders.

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 since last season. Since the start of 2016–17, the Otter men are 4–0 when leading after 35 minutes and 0–24 when trailing after 35 minutes. The women, meanwhile, are 8–0 when leading after 35 and 0–21 when trailing after 35.

WE LOVE THE 80s: The 80s have usually been incredibly friendly territory for the Otters in recent history. The Nov. 10th 93–87 loss to Central Washington last season snapped a 7–game win streak when the Otters scored 80 in regulation. CSUMB is 40–5 (.889) in its last 45 games when scoring at least 80 in regulation dating to the 2007–08 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 72–15 season–ending loss to Chico State, the Otters are now 0–53 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