BOX SCORE

HAYWARD, Calif. — When Tre Mauldin's halfcourt heave of a prayer was answered at the halftime buzzer, nobody in Pioneer Gym could know just how big that shot would prove to be. As it turned out, those three points were the difference in Cal State East Bay's 85-82 win over Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday night.

Maudlin's Hail Mary gave the Pioneers a 43-32 lead at the break. By the time 10 minutes had elapsed in the second half, that advantage had grown to 25 points and the buzzer-beater was relegated to footnote status.

Another Maudlin jumper made the lead 25 again at 67-42 with 7:48 to play. It was still a 23-point difference at 71-48 with 6:32 remaining when the Otters turned the game on its ear.

CSUMB began chipping away until consecutive three-pointers by Coley Apsay (Santa Clarita/Canyon HS) and Julian Ball (Citrus Heights/Sierra College) got the Otters to within 75-65 with 1:41 left. The comeback appeared to stall as East Bay traded free throws for buckets, extending its lead back to 12 at 84-72 with 31 seconds on the clock.

But a James Albert (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS) three, a Pioneer turnover and another Apsay three cut the East Bay lead to six. Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) then stole the inbounds pass, and although he missed his layup attempt, Ball was there to tip it in, cutting the lead to 84-80.

The Otters fouled immediately and Jacari Whitfield made 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead back to 85-80. A Brandon Cole (Vallejo/Napa Valley College) layup on the ensuing Otter possession made it a three-point game, but the Pioneers were able to inbound the ball successfully and run the final second off the clock to hold on for the win.

It might never had come down to that had the Otters not been historically cold from the field for the first 30 minutes. CSUMB made just one of its first 17 three-point attempts before nailing seven of its last nine. It was even worse inside, where the Otters missed more layups (7) than they made (4) in the first half.

Fertig kept the Otters in the game early, scoring 13 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. Apsay caught fire after the break, scoring 14 of his season-high 17 points in the second half.

CSUMB (3-6, 0-3 CCAA) also got 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds from Kevin Loustale (Chico/Shasta College), who made his second consecutive start.
Mauldin led East Bay (3-3, 2-1) with 15 points. Jason Smith added 13 and Whitfield pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

The Otters return to The Kelp Bed for their final game before the break when they host PacWest Conference rival Academy of Art Saturday (Dec. 15) for a 3 p.m. tipoff.