Riding a four-game winning streak, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball has a chance to pull even in California Collegiate Athletic Association play this weekend with a game against CSU Stanislaus on Friday and Chico State on Saturday.
CSU Stanislaus is 3-9 in the conference and 4-15 overall. The Warriors have won just one conference game on the road, against Chico State on Friday. CSU Stanislaus' top scorer is Heath Colvin with 15.4 points per game, but it's a balanced attack with three others averaging double figures: Rick Cardoso (12.6), Duane Jones (11.9) and Calvin Westbrook (10.4). The Warriors offense is ranked fourth in the conference (74.4 points per game) and their defense is ranked last at 81.8.
That should mean Friday's game will be a high-scoring affair because CSUMB has the second-ranked offense (77.9) and the 10th ranked defense (79.7). In their previous matchup, Cal State Monterey Bay narrowly lost 78-76. But the Otters are play much better ball at this point in the season and would have to be considered the favorite to win the rematch.
On Saturday, the Otters face Chico State. In their previous matchup, Chico beat CSUMB 83-71. Mike Martin led the Wildcats with 15 points. Martin is averaging 12.4 points per game, second on the team behind Darroll Phillips with 16.6. Those are the only two players averaging in double figures. Martin also leads the team in rebounding with 5.3. Chico is currently in last place in the conference with an overall record of 5-14 and a conference record of 1-11.
After winning four straight, the Otters are now 5-7 in the CCAA and 6-12 overall. In the Otters' Jan. 4 loss to Chico State, #Juston Willis# came off the bench to score 18 points to lead the team. Justin Argenal scored 14 to lead the Wildcats. The big difference in the game was rebounding. Chico led in that category 45-30, despite CSUMB's #Joe Mitchell# leading all players with 11.
Chico is ranked sixth in the conference in scoring with 70.1 points per game and is ninth in defense, allowing 75.7 points, so Saturday's game could be just as high scoring as Friday's matchup.
