SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey never found its shooting touch, spoiling any chance it had at an upset as No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino pulled away in the second half for an 83–60 win Thursday night in Coussoulis Arena.

Senior guard Jordan May (Troutdale, Ore./Reynolds HS) reached the 20–point mark for the third consecutive game, this time leading all scorers with 21. Senior forward Mike Johnson (Long Beach/Eastside HS) added a career–high nine rebounds.

For its part, the Otter defense held CCAA leading scorer Brandon Knapper scoreless for the first time this season. But Coyote juniors Eddie Davis and Darius Mickens picked up the slack by scoring 17 points apiece.

San Bernardino jumped to a 23–9 lead in the first eight minutes to take control. The Otters used a 12–0 run to get back into the game, but the Coyotes out–scored CSUMB 8–2 to open the second half and the Otters never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
 

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THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… an Eddie Davis layup gave San Bernardino at 74–49 lead with 6:22 to play.

HOT START: Despite Thursday's loss, CSUMB is 5–2 in CCAA play for just the second time in its history. The 2004–05 Otters — CSUMB's first year in the CCAA — also began 5–2. No Otter men's basketball team ever has started 6–2 in CCAA play.

20–20–20 VISION… With his game–high 21 points Thursday at San Bernardino, senior guard Jordan May became the first Otter to score 20 or more points in three consecutive games since Jahvon Johnson turned the trick Dec. 2–17, 2017. The last Otter to pull off that feat in four consecutive games was Ryan Nitz, who did it from Nov. 21–Dec. 4, 2015.

ON THE REBOUND… Mike Johnson pulled down a career–high eight rebounds Thursday at Cal State San Bernardino. His previous best was five at UC San Diego on Jan. 2, 2020. He is the fifth different Otter to lead the team in rebounding through 10 games this season.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Jordan May 21; REBOUNDS: Mike Johnson 8; ASSISTS: Tommy Kramer 3; BLOCKS: Jordan May 2; STEALS: Jordan May 2.

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… Due to COVID protocols at Cal Poly Pomona, the Otter doubleheader against the Broncos scheduled for Saturday (Jan. 8) has been canceled. CSUMB is scheduled to return to action next Thursday (Jan. 13) against Cal State East Bay in The Kelp Bed. That doubleheader will begin with a women's game at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30.