ARCATA, Calif. — Short–handed and playing the highest scoring team in the CCAA, the Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball team used an epic run and an heroic stand to close 2016 in style with a 70–57 win at Humboldt State Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.

Playing with just eight healthy bodies, CSUMB opened a 23–point lead then, running on fumes against a Humboldt team averaging more than 80 points game, bunkered down and finished the game with an 11–2 run to secure its first CCAA win of the season.

CSUMB trailed 15–7 midway through the first half before closing the period with a 30–5 run (which included a 17–0 stretch) to earn its biggest halftime lead of the season at 37–20. The Otters expanded their advantage to 23 points in the second half before the Lumberjacks made their run.

Freshman Kevin Warren (Oakland/St. Mary's HS) scored a team season–high 25 points to lead CSUMB
 

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THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Jonquis Bouyea (Seaside HS) grabbed the rebound off a missed Jeryn Lucas 3–point attempt with 1:24 remaining and the Otters leading 70–57.

C S U M "D"… Defense was the key in this win as the Otters held high–flying Humboldt to a season–low 57 points, more than 18 points below its CCAA–Leading average of 85.3 ppg entering the night. The 57 points were the fewest scored by the Lumberjacks in 78 games dating back to the 2013–14 season.

WARREN'S WORLD… Freshman guard Kevin Warren had the biggest night by an Otter this season, scoring a personal and team best 25 points. It was Warren's second 20–point game (he had 22 at Point Loma University on Nov. 19) and the fourth by an Otter this season.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Kevin Warren 25; REBOUNDS: Gregg Polosky 10; ASSISTS: Joe Covarrubias/Jahvon Johnson 4; BLOCKS: Julien Ducree/Gregg Polosky 1; STEALS: Kevin Warren 3.

THE NEXT–TO–THE–LAST WORD… "I just wanted to get to the rim. I got a couple of easy buckets and then it started to fall. The rim got really big once my shot started to go down." – CSUMB freshman guard Kevin Warren

THE LAST WORD… "I'm so proud of our group. We stuck to the game plan made some changes on the fly and got some big buckets from Kevin and Gregg down the stretch to put them away." – CSUMB Head Coach Rob Bishop

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters return to the friendly confines of The Kelp Bed for a pair of games next week, beginning with a Thursday, Jan. 5 game against nationally–ranked UC San Diego. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of men's/women's doubleheader action.