ARCATA, Calif. — Cal State Monterey Bay could put a bow on its first trip to the postseason since 2022 Thursday as Cal Poly Humboldt pulled away late to take a 93–82 decision in Lumberjack Arena.

With the loss — combined with Thursday wins by Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Marcos — the Otters either will need to win Saturday in Chico or have Pomona or San Marcos lose in order to punch their ticket to the CCAA Championship Tournament.

Thursday's game took on a playoff-like feel, with the teams playing through 11 ties and nine lead changes. Miki Gacic (Belgrade, Serbia/Asheville [N.C.] forged the last tie with a traditional 3-point play that knotted the score at 77-all with four minutes remaining in regulation.

But a 9–0 Humboldt run over the next 90 seconds gave the Lumberjacks the biggest lead for either team in the second half. CSUMB never got closer than six points the rest of the way.

Joey Bilello (Littleton, Colo./ThunderRidge HS) led four Otters in double figures with 17 points. Chol Deng (Sydney, NSW, Australia) added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 

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THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Using the Bill James safe lead formula, the game was statistically over Will Hampton made the first of two free throws to increase the Humboldt lead to 92–82 with 23 seconds remaining.

DESTINY IN THEIR OWN HANDS: The Otters will clinch a CCAA Tournament berth with a win Saturday at Chico. For those doing the match at home, CSUMB swept both Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Marcos this season and split with San Bernardino. San Bernardino, meanwhile, split with both Pomona and San Marcos. That means the Otters will win any multi-team tie with a record tie-breaker record of either 5–1 (four teams) or 3–1 (two teams). 

TIME FOR SOME SCOREBOARD WATCHING: If the Otters lose Saturday at Chico, they will need either Pomona or San Marcos to lose as well. CSUMB would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker versus San Bernardino due to the Coyote victory over Cal Poly Humboldt on Feb. 19.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE DIGITS: Once again, at least three Otters scored in double digits Thursday at Cal Poly Humboldt. This time, the honors went to: Joey Bilello (17), Chol Deng (16), Miki Gacic (14) and Michael Mora (12). It marked the 29th consecutive game in which at least three Otters scored in double figures.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Joey Bilello 17; REBOUNDS: Chol Deng 8; ASSISTS: Michael Mora 3; BLOCKS: Ashton Reese 1; STEALS: Joey Bilello/Miki Gacic/Michael Mora 2.

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… CSUMB heads inland for its regular season finale Saturday at Chico State. The men will tip-off at 3 p.m. as the nightcap of doubleheader action with the Otter women.