BOX SCORE

TURLOCK, Calif. — It couldn't have happened in a better way to a nicer guy.

Senior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) has been the quintessential student-athlete on and off the court for the past four seasons. Saturday night, the Academic All-America^® candidate completed his quest to become the leading scorer in Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball history in dramatic fashion, sinking a pair of late free throws to not only break the record but ice the game in a 78-74 Otter win over Cal State Stanislaus in Fitzpatrick Arena.

Ward entered the game needing 14 points to tie and 15 to break the CSUMB career record of 1,075 points set by Matt Dalhamer from 1998 through 2001. And he came through when it mattered most. Ward scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, including a critical pair of free throws that extended the Otter lead to two possessions, 76-72, with 34 seconds to play.

Not only did those free throws essentially seal the win, they sealed his place in history.

“I knew it was coming up,” said a typically humble Ward after the game. “But I didn't know that I got it with those free throws. I was just looking to be aggressive and to attack when I had openings, and I got opportunities late.”

Ward wasn't the only Otter to come through Saturday night. In a game that featured 11 ties and 19 lead changes, many players had a hand in CSUMB's eighth victory of the season. Freshman guard Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) made perhaps the biggest impact, registering his sixth 20-point game of the season by leading both teams with 20 points. He was responsible for the game's final lead change, burying a three from the top of the key to put the Otters ahead to stay, 70-67, with 3:04 remaining.

Senior forward Kevin Loustale (Chico/Shasta College) added his second double-double in three games with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Also coming up big was sophomore guard Dammond Rogers (Los Angeles/Inglewood HS), whose two free throws with seven seconds remaining restored CSUMB's four-point lead and ended any realistic chance of a Stanislaus comeback.

Neither team was able to gain much of a foothold in the first half. Stanislaus grabbed its biggest lead at 18-12 seven minutes into the game before a short Rogers jumper gave the Otters their biggest lead at 38-31 late in the first half. But the first half merely set the stage for the nerve-wracking second stanza.

Twice Stanislaus took three-point leads early in the second half, but neither team led by more until a Ward three-ball made it 62-58 Otters with 7:46 remaining. The teams played through their final three ties and two lead changes over the ensuing four minutes until Fertig's clutch three put the Otters ahead to stay at the 3:04 mark.

CSUMB (8-11, 4-8 CCAA) returns home to open a four-game homestand Friday night when it hosts San Francisco State for a 7:30 p.m. tip. Saturday, the Otters will welcome Sonoma State for the game that will cap the 2013 Otter homecoming festivities.

Stanislaus fell to 7-9 and 4-8 with Saturday's loss.