BOX SCORE

---

SEASIDE, Calif. — After three narrow losses on the road, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team discovered that there's no place like home for the holidays. The Otters returned to The Kelp Bed and gave themselves and early Christmas present in the form of an 82-71 win over Academy of Art in a rare Saturday matinee.

“It was a great team effort (today),” said CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop, whose Otters improved to 4-6 on the season. “It was a little helter skelter early, but everybody stepped up late.”

“Our game plan was to get the ball out push it. We knew we were deeper then them,” said senior forward Kevin Loustale (Chico/Shasta College). “I thought we did that well. When we can push the tempo we create easy baskets in transition for our big men and than opens things up for our guards.”

The CSUMB bench did most of the giving, placing three scorers in double figures while out-scoring the ArtU bench 45-6. Senior forward Derrick Anderson (Pittsburg HS) and freshman guard Alex Fertig (Fresno/Buchanan HS) led the Otter reserves with 13 points apiece. Loustale, normally a reserve, made his third consecutive start and matched his season high with 12 points.

“We play 10 guys, and sometimes 11 or 12 when we're healthy,” said Bishop. “Our bench was huge tonight as it always is.”

Neither team led by more than five points in a taut first half featuring six ties and seven lead changes. Consecutive layups by Fertig and Loustale offset a pair of late Alex Carmen free throws to give the Otters a 33-31 lead at the break.

The second half began as the first half ended, with five more ties and 10 more lead changes highlighting the first 11 minutes of the period. Fertig finally put CSUMB ahead to stay with a layup and a short jumper inside the final nine minutes. Three minutes later, a Loustale jumphook started an 8-0 run that put the Otters ahead 74–65 at the three-minute mark and pointed the way to ultimate victory.

CSUMB shot 56 percent from the floor (15-for-27) in the second half, but the Otters won the game on the boards. CSUMB was being out-rebounded 22-20 and trailing 47-45 when it began to take control of the glass. The Otters out-rebounded the Urban Knights 19-7 from that point, allowing no second chance points in the second half.

Carmon made 10-of-11 free throws as part of his game-high 26 point effort to lead ArtU (2-6).

CSUMB (4-6 overall) will take two weeks off for final exams and the winter holiday break before returning to action by hosting Cal State East Bay Dec. 30 in The Kelp Bed.