OTTERS vs. COUGARS HIGHLIGHTSSEASIDE, Calif. — The Kelp Bed continues to be a dangerous place to swim for men's basketball opponents. Saturday afternoon, Cal State Monterey Bay proved that point again by posting its fourth win by 25 or more points at home this season with a convincing 97–65 win over Cal State San Marcos.
CSUMB (9–10, 7–6 CCAA) took the lead for good barely three minutes into the game and, within five minutes, had its advantage in double figures. The Otters settled on a 42–28 lead at the half, when the fun really began.
Three–pointers by
Evan Zeller (Mission Viejo HS) and
Devin Murphy (Sacramento/Sierra College) capped an 11–1 run to open the second half, pushing the lead permanently past 20 points. A
Ryan Nitz (Rancho Cucamonga HS) jumper got the lead to 30 points at 71–41 with 11:19 to play and that would be a close as the Cougars would get for the duration.
Zeller led five Otters with double figures with a season–high 24 points.
Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) added 18 points, five assists and four steals. Nitz, the CCAA's leading scorer entering the contest, got in early foul trouble and scored just 10 points in a season–low 18 minutes.
CSUMB hits the road for its next four games, beginning Friday at Cal State Stanislaus. The Otters will then visit a pair of nationally–ranked opponents at No. 16 Chico State (Feb. 6) and No. 13 Cal Poly Pomona (Feb. 11).
GO OTTERS!
