BOX SCORE

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — A sluggish first half and a frenetic comeback in the second half added up to a 92-77 loss at Sonoma State for the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team Friday night in the Wolves' Den.

The loss levels CSUMB's record at 3-3. Sonoma State improved to 2-1. It was the California Collegiate Athletic Association opener for both teams.

Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) came off the bench to lead CSUMB with 17 points. Freshman guard Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) added 16 points in his first collegiate start. Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) chipped in 10.

But that wasn't enough to overcome the lights-out shooting of Sonoma senior Patrick Scott, who went 7-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line to match his career high with 28 points.

Sonoma bruised the Otters from the paint early in the game then torched them from long range later in the opening half, racing to a 43-28 lead at intermission. The Seawolves scored 18 points in the paint in the period and went 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

“We didn't defend the post the way we were supposed to in the first half and we dug ourselves a pretty big hole,” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. “We did a better job in the second half, but Sonoma was hot and Scott was on fire. He made some tough shots.”

The Seawolf lead grew to as many as 18 points at 61-43 eight minutes into the second half before the Otters battled their way back. A Ward layup got the deficit back to a manageable eight points at 67-59 with seven minutes remaining. A Ward tip-in made the score 76-70 with 3:20 to play.

The Otters twice held the ball with a chance to cut the deficit to four with more than two minutes remaining when the Sonoma defense got two critical stops to stem the Monterey Bay tide. The Seawolves then scored 13 points from the line in the final 2:03 to seal the game.

“We've got 21 more league games to play, so this is just the beginning,” said Bishop. “The goal is always to get at least a split on the road in conference and we'll get a chance to do that tomorrow.”

CSUMB plays concludes its Bay area trip Saturday at San Francisco State. Listen live on KRXA 540 AM or online at www.OtterAthletics.com. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of men's/women's doubleheader action.