Chico St. Chico 11-2,7-2 CCAA

Cal St. Monterey Bay CSMB 8-4,7-2 CCAA

Chico St. Chico

11-2,7-2 CCAA

Final

Jan. 22, 2022

Cal St. Monterey Bay CSMB

8-4,7-2 CCAA

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Chico St. Chico	40	21	61
Cal St. Monterey Bay CSMB	33	31	64

Summary
Box Score

Brent Dundore-Arias - CSUMB

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | January 22, 2022 | Kevin Gilmore (@OtterKevin)

Otters Find A Way, Knock Off No. 7 Chico State 64–61

CSUMB earns first win ever over a Top 10 NCAA Division II team

SEASIDE, Calif. — Junior forward Andrew Ferguson (Perth/Western Aust.) posted his fourth double–double of the season to lead Cal State Monterey Bay past No. 7 ranked Chico State 64–61 Saturday afternoon in The Kelp Bed.

Ferguson finished with a season–high 18 points and added 11 rebounds as CSUMB (8–4, 7–2 CCAA) extended the best start of the program's NCAA Division II era. But the Aussie 7–footer was far from the only hero in this one.

Sophomore Kyle Johnson (Point Loma HS) finished with 11 boards for the second consecutive game while senior guard Dre Ferguson (Los Angeles/Pacific Hills HS) played lights out defense on the perimeter and made several clutch shots as part of his season–high 10 points.

Chico (11–2, 7–2) led 40–33 at the half and kept a slim lead through the first 18–plus minutes of the second half. But the Otters never let the Wildcats gain meaningful separation, pulling to within a single possession on six different occasions.

Freshman guard Jailen Nelson (Carlsbad HS) finally got CSUMB over the top with a long 3–pointer to give the Otters a 62–61 lead with 1:15 remaining. The Otter defense stepped up for a pair of stops on the final two Wildcat possessions to secure the win.

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Malik Duffy's three–quarter court heave came up empty at the final horn.

OTTERS STAY HOT… The Otters continued the best start in their CCAA history (2005–present) by improving to 7–2 in conference play with Saturday's 64–61 win over Chico State. Prior to this season, CSUMB's best CCAA record through nine games was 5–4 during the 2004–05 and 2008–09 seasons.

GIANT KILLERS… CSUMB's 64–61 win over No. 7 Chico State was the Otters' first ever over a Top 10 NCAA Division II program. It was CSUMB's first over a nationally–ranked opponent since a 67–65 win over (then) No. 14 ranked Cal Poly Pomona on Feb. 11, 2016.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE, PART I… For the second time the season, the Otter defense showed its mettle by completely shutting down an opponent's top offensive weapon. Saturday, CSUMB held Chico State leading scorer Kevin Warren scoreless for the just the second time in his collegiate career (spanning 92 games). It was the first time he was held without a point since Dec. 3, 2016 against Cal State San Bernardino — when he was a freshman playing for CSUMB.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE, PART II… The Otters pulled off a similar feat earlier this season when they shutout Cal State San Bernardino's Brandon Knapper. Note that, despite that goose egg, Knapper still leads the CCAA in scoring at 21.4 points per game.

DOUBLE–DOUBLE TROUBLE… Junior post player Andrew Ferguson posted his team leading fourth double–double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's win over Chico State. He now has seven double–doubles in 27 appearances as an Otter.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Andrew Ferguson 18; REBOUNDS: Andrew Ferguson/Kyle Johnson 11; ASSISTS: Andrew Ferguson 4; BLOCKS: Andrew Ferguson 4; STEALS: Levi Frankland 3.

THE LAST WORD… "There is no program that I hold in higher esteem than Chico State. They represent everything good in college basketball, so to be able to get a win against them tonight is big for our program. I could not possibly be more proud of our guys. They were tremendous defensively all night. It's also important to mention assistant coach Riley Grabau's contribution in that area. Not just tonight, but all year long, he's done a great job coaching that end of the floor." – CSUMB Head Coach Isaac Williams

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters make their first of two Southern California roadtrips over the final month of the season when they travel to Cal State L.A. Thursday (Jan. 27) for a CCAA doubleheader. The women will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. as the opener of doubleheader action with the men.

GO OTTERS!

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