SAN MARCOS, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team came within seconds of a big road win, only to see host Cal State San Marcos score with 14 seconds remaining to earn a 69–66 win at Mira Costa College.

Senior forward Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga/Chaffey College) sank a pair of free throws with 37 seconds to play to put the Otters up 66–65. Julien Ducree (Rancho Cucamonga HS) blocked Darnell Taylor's first attempt at a layup to re-take the lead with 30 seconds remaining. After a Cougar rebound and a timeout, however, Taylor made his second attempt for the eighth and final lead change of the night.

Nitz missed a midrange jumper with five seconds remaining. The rebound went out off a Cougar defender giving the Otters one final chance, but they threw the inbounds pass away, leading to an uncontested dunk to set the final margin.

"We played much better tonight than we did in Thursday's win (at Dominguez Hills)," said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop. "We gave ourselves a chance to win a road game against a very good basketball team. We battled for 40 minutes and just came up a little short. We just have to do a better job on the glass."

Nitz and Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS) led the Otters with 17 points apiece. Gregg Polosky (Danville/San Ramon Valley HS) matched his season–high with eight rebounds while Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) chipped in 12 points, six assists and two blocks

Polosky and Mateo Jones (Victorville/Silverado HS) and each added three blocks as the Otters broke a 14–year–old school record with 12 blocks. With 61 blocks and 14 games remaining in the regular season, the Otters are on pace to break the school record for blocks of 109 set during the 2006 season.

CSUMB (5–8, 3–4 CCAA) returns home to host Cal State San Bernardino Friday in The Kelp Bed. San Marcos (8–5, 6–2) will visit the Otters on Jan. 30.