Men's Basketball | December 29, 2014
SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team will open the 2015 calendar year with a tough road test, playing at in-form Sonoma State Friday (Jan. 2) before heading back down Highway 101 to face highly-regarded San Francisco State Saturday (Jan. 3). Both games will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of men's/women's doubleheader action.
After shocking home loss to Pacific Union, Sonoma has been on fire, winning five in a row. For their part, the Otters closed 2014 with a win over Cal State East Bay and will enter 2015 with their best record to start a new year since 2009.
Fans who can't make it to the other Bay area for this weekend's games may watch live at
SonomaSeawolves.com and
SFStateGators.com and listen live on
KION/IHeart Radio as well as
OtterAthletics.com. As usual, Rob Ponce will handle the play–by–play duties live from courtside.
SEAWOLF 3–DOT NOTES (7–1, 4–0 CCAA): After a puzzling home loss to Pacific Union (!) to open the season, the Seawolves have righted the ship in a major way…have won six straight entering the new year, including a win over San Bernardino impressive sweep of highly–regarded San Francisco State…they have shot the lights out so far this season and lead the CCAA in field goal (.504), 3–point (.441) and free–throw (.741) percentages…junior guard James Davis, a transfer from Northern Colorado, leads the CCAA in scoring at 17.7 points per game in six appearances…Mike Harris (11.7 ppg), David Ahern (11.1 ppg) and JJ Mina (10.8 ppg) also average in double figures.
WHEN LAST WE MET: The teams traded second half rallies to force overtime, when the Otters exploded to win going away, 79–69, in the Wolves Den on Feb. 28, 2014.
Ryan Nitz led the way for the Otters, scoring a season–high 27 points for the Otters.
Greg Anderson chipped in 13 points and a season–high 12 rebounds to complete his second double–double. David Ahern led Sonoma with 19 points.
WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The Otters shook off a sluggish start to take an entertaining, physical affair from Cal State East Bay, 93–81, Dec. 20 in The Kelp Bed.
Greg Anderson matched his career high with 22 points and added a career–high 13 rebounds to lead the Otters.
THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: This will be the second time the Otters and Seawolves have met on a January 2nd. The Otters got 20 points, five assists and three steals from Steve Monreal en route to a 65–61 win at Sonoma State on Jan. 2, 2009.
BATTLE OF THE TITANS: Friday's game at Sonoma State will feature the top two scorers in the CCAA. Sonoma junior James Davis is first at 17.7 points per game while CSUMB sophomore
Evan Zeller is second at 17.2 ppg.
DOUBLE THE FUN: With 21 points in the win over Northwest Nazarene, Zeller has now scored in double figures in all 10 games to start the season. In case you're wondering, Devoughn Lamont is the only player in Otter history to score in double figures in every game of a season, turning the trick 29 times in 2005–06. Zeller and
Alex Fertig have the longest streaks of double figure games to start a season Since them. Fertig accomplished the feat in the first 10 games last season.
DOUBLE–DOUBLE THE FUN: By tying his career high with 22 points while grabbing a career–high 13 rebounds in the win over Cal State East Bay,
Greg Anderson became the first Otter to record a double–double this season. It was the first double–double by an Otter since Anderson scored 13 points and pulled down a (then) career–high 12 rebounds in a win 79–69 win at Sonoma State on Feb. 28, 2014.
A PROMISING START, PART I: With Thursday's win over Northwest Nazarene, the Otters finish the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 4–2 mark. It's their best nonconference record since the 2008–09 Otters went 8–4 outside of league play.
A PROMISING START, PART II: The Otter entered the Christmas break with a 6–4 record overall. It's their best record to finish the calendar year since the finishing 2008 with a 7–2 mark. For what it's worth, the first game of 2009 was a 65–61 win at Sonoma State on Jan. 2, 2009.
OTTERS AMONG THE CCAA LEADERS: In addition to
Evan Zeller in the scoring race, several other Otters appear in the CCAA's Top 10 lists entering 2015. They include: SCORING: No. 10
Alex Fertig (13.1 ppg); *3PT%: No. 5
Evan Zeller (43.1); REBOUNDS: No. 4
Greg Anderson (7.2 rpg); ASSISTS: No. 6
Patrick Lefiti (3.6 apg), No. 8
Evan Zeller (2.9 apg); STEALS: No. 8
Alex Fertig (1.5 spg). *Min. 2.0 made per game
HE GIVITH AND HE TAKETH AWAY: With four assists in the final two games of 2014,
Alex Fertig jumped into a tie for the No. 8 spot on the CSUMB career assist list with 123 He needs 24 more to catch No. 7 Steve Becker for No. 7. On the flip side, Fertig added five steals to his larder in the final two games of 2014 and will enter 2015 No. 6 on the Otter career list with 73 He has a chance to catch Joe Mitchell's school record of 91 by season's end.
