FULL NOTEBOOK IN PDF FORMAT


SEASIDE, Calif. -- The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team takes a brief detour from The Kelp Bed to play west region rival Notre Dame de Namur Sautrday (Dec. 10) in Belmont. If you can't make the game, be sure to listen live on KION 1460 AM. Rob Ponce will call all the action with the pregmae show beginning at 6:40 p.m.

SCOUTING THE ARGONAUTS: Notre Dame is coming off a 72-63 Pac West Conference loss at Dixie State. After winning two in a row, NDNU has now dropped two in a row. The Argonauts and Otters have one common opponent as both have defeated Sonoma State. NDNU also has a 57–48 loss at CCAA foe Cal Poly Pomona. Senior guard Aaron Mollet leads three Argonauts averaging in double figures at 12.6 points per game. Junior center Wesley White added 11.4 ppg and a team–high 7.6 rebounds per game. NDNU is still looking for its first 20–point scorer and double–digit rebounder this season.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Steve Monreal led four Otters in double figures as CSUMB rolled to an 86–70 win over NDNU in The Kelp Bed on Dec. 20, 2008. Monreal also added a game–high nine assists as the Otters built a 22–point halftime lead before putting the game on cruise control. Bennie Murray and Deon sharps led the Argonauts with 20 points apiece.

ABOUT LAST WEEK: After dropping their CCAA opener to defending conference champion Humboldt State, 74–59, on Dec. 2, the Otters came back with a game for the ages Dec. 3, forcing overtime late before outlasting Sonoma State 80–72 in The Kelp Bed. James Albert (Castro Valley/Bishop O'Dowd) hit a three–pointer with 26 seconds remaining to force overtime. It was part of his career–high 14–point night. CSUMB also got a career–high 23 points from junior guard Brandon Ward (Riverside/Woodcrest HS) and the first career double–double 15 and 14) from junior forward Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Otters will be taking to the road again for the first time since their season–opener at the University of the Pacific when they travel to Notre Dame de Namur Saturday night. CSUMB will then return home for two games before embarking on a season–high five–game road trip from Dec. 30 through Jan. 14.
                               
DOUBLE VISION: Derrick Anderson's 15–point, 14–rebound double–double was not only his first collegiate double–double, it was the first double–double of the season for CSUMB. In fact, it was the first double–double by an Otter in 33 games. Davion Berry was the last Otter to turn the trick, scoring 24 points with 12 boards in a 78–63 win over Cal State East Bay on Feb. 19, 2010.

ON THE REBOUND: Otter rebounders continue to soar at near record levels. After out–rebounding Sonoma State 48–32 Saturday night, the Otters have now out–rebounded three of their last four opponents by at least 15 boards: +18 over Westminster College (39–21), +15 over Cal–Maritime (37–22) and + 16 over Sonoma State. It's CSUMB's greatest rebounding stretch at the NCAA level and its greatest since the 2003–04 Otters went +30 over Cal–Maritime and +24 over both Notre Dame de Namur and Menlo College in a four–game span from Jan. 27 through Feb. 7, 2004 — that's a span of 167 games.

LOUSTALE LEADS THE WAY: Junior forward Kevin Loustale (Chico HS/Shasta College) has led the way for the Otters on the boards so far. Loustale averages a team–best 8.0 rebounds per game, good for No. 4 among CCAA players entering this week's action.

OTTERS AMONG THE CCAA LEADERS: Several Otters enter this week's action ranked among the CCAA leaders. CSUMB players ranked in the top 10 are:
START ME UP: By starting Saturday's game against Sonoma State, Brandon Ward continued his steady climb up the CSUMB career starts top 10 list. Ward made his 49th Otter start that night, tying him with Devoughn Lamont for the No. 8 spot. Should Ward start all 26 regular season games in 2011–12, he would end the season with 70 career starts, No. 3 on the all–time list and just six off the record held by current assistant coach Joe Mitchell.

THE WARD GIVETH… Although he did not collect a steal against Sonoma State, Brandon Ward enters Saturday's game at Notre Dame de Namur with 139 career assists, good for No. 7 on the CSUMB career list. Next up is Stephen Becker (2005–09) with 147. DShon Cannon owns the Otter record with 371.

…AND THE WARD TAKETH AWAY: Although he did not collect a steal against Sonoma State, Brandon Ward enters Saturday's game at Notre Dame de Namur tied with Khi–Min Jung (2006) for No. 12 on the CSUMB career list with 50 steals. Joe Mitchell hold the Otter record with 91 steals.

NOW THAT'S SMARTS: The Otter men's basketball team boasted three players who earned CCAA All–Academic honors for their classroom work in 2010–11. The Otter triumvirate of James Albert, Brenden Fripp (Santa Barbara/Palo Verde HS) and Brandon Ward made CSUMB the only school to place three men's basketball players on the list. In case you were wondering, Albert posted a 3.65 grade point average as a business administration major. Ward posted a 3.90 GPA as a business administration major.

COMING AND GOING: The Otters face a challenging schedule from a travel standpoint in 2011–12. The Otters open by playing six of the first eight regular season games at home. But then they hit the road for nine of their next 11 before starting a five–game homestand in mid February. In fact, after hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills on Dec. 19, the Otters will not take the Kelp Bed floor for a full month until they host Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 20.