BOX SCORE

Cal St. East Bay 65, CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY 59 FINAL BOX SCORE

SCOREBOARD  1  2  OT  FINAL Cal St. Monterey Bay (3-3, 0-3 CCAA)  33  26  59 Cal St. East Bay (5-5, 2-1 CCAA)  39  26  65

TOP PERFORMERS

OTTERS No. STAT No. PIONEERS Nikki Beckman 19 Points 17 Tori Breshers Nikki Beckman 6 Rebounds 13 Rachel Finnegan Nikki Beckman 7 Assists 3 Micah Walker

HAYWARD, Calif. — A pair of spirited comeback efforts weren't quite enough for the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team as Cal State East Bay held on for a 65-59 win Saturday night in Pioneer Gym.

CSUMB (3-3, 0-3 CCAA) got 19 points and seven assists from junior guard Nikki Beckman (Dublin/Ohlone College), the former ties her career high while the latter is a season high. The Otters also got 13 points, including three 3-pointers, from senior forward Ashley Morgan (Rohnert Park/Santa Rosa CC).

After scoring the first six points of the game, the Otters saw East Bay roar back to take its largest lead of the game at 37-17 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. That's when CSUMB made its first big charge, finishing the half on a 16-2 run to cut the deficit to 39-33 by intermission.

The Pioneers used a 14-5 run to open the second half and take their biggest lead of the period at 53-38. The Otters endured a run of more than five minute without a field goal midway through the half but still managed to keep the East Bay lead from growing any larger before they made their final charge.

Trailing 64-49 with 4:28 remaining, a pair of free throws and a jumper by Beckman keyed a 10-0 run that pulled the Otters to within five at 64-59 with 85 seconds still to play. They had three chances to pull closer inside the final 64 seconds but couldn't convert on any of those opportunities before a pair of late East Bay free throws accounted for the final margin.

"We got exposed last week on some things and I think have made some progress in the right direction. Tonight showed we still have work to do though because we came up short," says CSUMB Head Coach Kerri Nakamoto. (@CoachKNakamoto) "We can't continue to allow people to get to the free-throw line the amount we are currently. I'm happy we have a full week to clean up what we didn't do well tonight"

The Otters and Pioneers (5-5, 2-1) will conclude their home-and-home series Saturday, Dec. 21 in The Kelp Bed. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. as the opener of men's/women's doubleheader action.