BOX SCORE

CARSON, Calif. — Ah…road sweet road. The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team continued its strong run of recent play and exercised its road demons with one fell swoop, opening up a big second half lead then holding on down the stretch to upend Cal State Dominguez Hills 75-72 Friday night in The Torodome.

CSUMB improved to 6-6 overall and 2-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association by posting its first three-game winning streak since Jan. 29 through Feb. 4, 2011. The Otters also earned their first road win since defeating Cal State L.A. 73-69 on Feb. 12, 2011.

As has often been the case during his stellar career, senior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) came up big when it counted most, finding the bottom of the net with a pair of free throws and just 5.2 seconds on the clock. Brandon Cole (Vallejo/Napa Valley College) followed with solid defense on the other end, getting a hand up to alter Mitrell Clark's attempt to tie the game at the buzzer.

“We just hustled,” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. “We got some loose balls, we got some steals and we were able to keep them from shooting the ball well.”

The game was close throughout the first half until Dominguez Hills threatened to take control in the final two minutes. The Toros opened their biggest leas at 35-28 on a Givon Crump three-point play and had two chances to get the lead to double digits.

But the Otter defense held and a Julian Ball (Citrus Heights/Sierra College) fast break layup and steal trimmed the deficit to 35-31 at the half.

The Otters then exploded out of the lockerroom, out-scoring Dominguez Hills 11-4 to open the second half to take a lead they would not relinquish. A Kevin Loustale (Chico/Sierra College) layup put CSUMB ahead to stay at 41-39 less than four minute into the second half.

An Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) layup got the lead to double digits at 60-50 midway through the period before a Kris Gallop (Vallejo/Los Medanos College) jumphook gave the Otters their biggest lead at 65-51 with 9:24 to play.

But the Toros slowly chipped away, eventually getting to within three points at 73-70 with 46 ticks left. Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS), normally a reliable free-throw shooter, had a chance to ice the game but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity to give the Toros life.

Dominguez Hills scored quickly on a Ryan Jefferson layup with six seconds remaining, but Gallop found Ward, CSUMB's top free-throw shooter, with the inbounds pass and Ward made the clutch shots to help the Otters secure the win.

“We're playing really well at home, but if you're going to contend in this conference, you need to at least split on the road,” said Bishop. “All we can do is focus on tomorrow. It's our most important game of the season right now.”

Ward led four Otters in double figures with 15 points. CSUMB also got 13 points and a game-high four assists from Fertig. Gallop led the Otters on the boards with five rebounds.

Lamine Diame led all scorers with 17 points for Dominguez Hills (6-6, 2-3).

CSUMB concludes its brief two-game, Southern California swing by playing at Cal State L.A. Saturday night. The Otters return home to host No. 6 Cal Poly Pomona Jan. 11 in The Kelp Bed.