BOX SCORE

CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY 79, SONOMA STATE 69 (OT) FINAL BOX SCORE

SCOREBOARD  1  2  OT  FINAL Cal St. Monterey Bay (10-14, 8-13 CCAA)  31  25  12  79 Sonoma State (6-19, 5-16 CCAA)  25  42  2  69

TOP PERFORMERS

OTTERS No. STAT No. SEAWOLVES Ryan Nitz 27 Points 19 David Ahern Greg Anderson 12 Rebounds 7 Michael Avery Jorey Scott 2 Assists 3 Michael Avery

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team got big contributions up and down its lineup to survive a second–half Sonoma State rally and take a 79–69 overtime decision Friday night in The Wolves' Den.

The win clinched eighth place in the CCAA for CSUMB (10–14, 8–13 CCAA), which, up until this season, would have meant a berth in the CCAA Tournament. For the first time in 2014, the CCAA is taking only six teams to the postseason instead of eight. In addition, as a reflection of the team's steady improvement, secures CSUMB's first 10-win season since 2009.

"It was a good college basketball game tonight and a lot of fun to watch," said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop (@Coach_RBishop). "We played hard tonight and got solid contributions from a lot of guys, especially our post guys, who played great defense on (Justin) Herold."

Swingman Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) and junior forward Greg Anderson (Murietta/Palomar College) made the biggest impact on the stat sheet. Nitz scored a season–high 27 points while Anderson contributed his third double–double as an Otter, scoring 13 points to go along with a game–high 12 rebounds.

The biggest story, however, was the Otter defense, most notably that played by Anderson and a quartet of post players who effectively shutdown Sonoma's All–CCAA big man Justin Herold. Herold torched the Otters with a 24–point, 11–rebound double–double the first time these teams met (a 68–66 Sonoma win on Jan. 25). This time, Herold managed just five points—all from the free–throw line—and two rebounds.

"Overtime has always been big for us, but the story of the game was our bigs containing Justin Herold," said Nitz. "We didn't let him get a field goal, just free throws."

Early on, this game didn't look anything like one headed for overtime. The Otters needed less than 10 minutes to open their first 10–point lead at 19–9. The Seawolves chipped away, however, closing the gap to 31–25 at the half and to 31–28 49 seconds after the restart. But they didn't grab their first lead until a Michael Avery layup made it 39–38 Sonoma with more than 14 minutes remaining.

With Sonoma still leading by one at 52–52, the Seawolves appeared to take control with a 9–2 run that gave them their biggest lead of the night, 61–53, with 6:12 left in regulation.

That's when a Nitz runner in the lane followed by his third 3–pointer of the game capped an 11–0 Otter run that gave the lead right back to CSUMB, 64–62.

An Anderson layup with 14 seconds to play gave CSUMB its final lead of regulation at 67–65 before David Ahern forced overtime with a layup of his own inside the final five seconds.

Nitz started overtime with a bang, stealing the opening tip then racing down court to flush it, giving the Otters a quick lead. Avery responded with a tying layup on the ensuing Sonoma possession, but they would prove to be the final Seawolf points of the evening.

The Otters got jumpers from Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) and Anderson on their next two possessions to go up 73–69. The Seawolves, meanwhile, came up empty on their final eight possessions of overtime as CSUMB steadily pulled away.

The Otters will close their 2013–14 schedule Saturday, traveling back across the Golden Gate Bridge to tackle San Francisco State in The Swamp. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of men's/women's doubleheader action.