Evan Zeller's three first half 3-pointers keyed the Otter rally in Tuesday's 91-87 overtime win at Academy of Art.
BOX SCORE
CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY 91, ACADEMY OF ART 87 (ot)
FINAL BOX SCORE | POSTGAME VIDEO |
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SCOREBOARD |
1 |
2 |
OT |
FINAL |
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Cal St. Monterey Bay (1-0) |
39 |
39 |
13 |
91 |
|
Academy of Art (1-2) |
41 |
37 |
9 |
87 |
|
|
TOP PERFORMERS |
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SAN FRANCISCO — One of the latest season-openers in Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball history proved well worth the wait as the Otters shook off some early rust to beat Pac West Conference rival Academy of Art in overtime, 91-87, Tuesday night in Kezar Pavilion.
Junior swingman
Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) led the way with 21 points in his Otter debut while sophomore guard
Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) scored all 16 of his points in the second half to hold off an ArtU team that averaged 93 points per game in it first two games.
CSUMB hadn't played since upending San Jose State 78-69 in its final exhibition game on Nov. 4, and the rust showed early as the Otters made eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes, helping the Urban Knights to race to a 27-13 nine minutes into the contest. But three consecutive 3–pointers by freshman
Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS) helped the Otters right the ship and even take the lead eight minutes later before ArtU claimed a 41-39 advantage at the half.
After the Urban knights took their biggest lead of the second half at 50-45, seven Fertig points keyed a 15-2 Otter spurt that seemed to put the CSUMB in control midway through the period at 60-52. But the Urban Knights clawed their way back, finally tying the game at 78-78 with 1:04 remaining to force the extra period.
Overtime began with a heady play by Nitz. A poor toss by the official gave ArtU easy control of the tip. But Nitz read the play and knifed in front of the Urban Knight guards to steal the tip and race in for a layup that gave the Otters the lead.
Unlike the first two periods, overtime was a back-and-forth affair that saw four lead changes in the first four minutes. Trailing by one, the Otters used a penetrating quick passing play to free Fertig for an open 3-pointer at the top of the that put CSUMB back on top, 89-87, with 1:09 on the clock.
Free throws in the final minute by Fertig and Nitz sealed the win.
In addition to Nitz and Fertig, Zeller added 13 points and
Jorey Scott (Lake Tahoe, Nev./Miramar College) eight rebounds off the bench.
CSUMB returns to The Kelp Bed for its home opener Saturday night when it hosts Notre Dame de Namur at 5:30 p.m.
GO OTTERS!
