Men's Basketball | November 06, 2017

SEASIDE, Calif. — The Isaac Williams era of Cal State Monterey Bay men's basketball begins in earnest Friday (Nov. 10) when the Otters lif the lid on their 2017–18 schedule at Concordia–Portland in the CCAA/GNAC Challenge. CSUMB will tip–off against the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. Friday before playing Central Washington University Saturday (Nov. 11) at 3 p.m.

Both games will take place at LCEF Court on the Concordia campus.

The Otters return seven players—including senior guard Mateo Jones (Victorville/Silverado HS), who redshirted last season—but figure to unveil an entirely new look. Not only should fans expect to see a different style of play under Williams, several new players figure to make immediate impacts as well

"Regardless if I were coaching at Eastern Oregon, CSUMB, or in the NBA, this would be the start of a completely new journey," says Williams. "Our fans should expect to see a group of individuals working to come together as a team both on and off the court. At our best, we will be completely unselfish in every aspect of the game. Everything we are going through right now is for the first time together. I'm hoping to see signs that our culture, while in it's infancy, is starting to show itself, especially when the going gets tough."

Fans not making the trip to Oregon can follow online with live stats and video streams available through www.gocugo.com. On the airwaves, Rob Ponce returns again this season to call all of the action on KION 101.1 FM and iHeartRadio.
 

---

CAVALIER 3–DOT NOTES (14–14, 10–10 GNAC IN 2016–17): The Cavaliers have completed the transition process from NAIA and are NCAA Tournament eligible for the first time in 2017–18…followed a 7–20 first Division II season with a 14–14 mark and a fourth–place finish in the GNAC last season…Sr./F Christopher Edward led Concordia in rebounding last season but is the only one of its five top scorers (No. 3, 11.7 ppg) to return.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Forced to throw their youngsters into the fire due to a rash of preseason injuries, the Otters fell to Concordia 80–73 in the season opener for both teams last season in The Kelp Bed. The Otters started two freshmen and two sophomores and their five freshman played nearly half (91) of the team's minutes that night. A pair of freshmen—Kevin Warren (15 pts) and Jahvon Johnson (12 pts) led CSUMB. Latrell Wilson led five Cavaliers in double figures with 19 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: Chico State opened the game on a 15–5 run and never looked back en route to a 72–57 win in The Kelp Bed in the 2016–17 season finale on Feb. 25. Gregg Polosky led three Otters in double figures with 15 points.

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… We're returning the feature "The Game Was Statistically Over When…" again in 2017–18. This feature uses and algorithm developed by sabermatician Bill James calculate the point in the game at which it became statistically impossible for the losing team to win.

WELCOME ABOARD ISAAC WILLIAMS: Isaac Williams comes to CSUMB after posting a 120–41 record in five seasons as head coach at Eastern Oregon University. He replaced Rob Bishop, who went 86–157 in nine seasons with the Otters. Williams led EOU to a 24–9 record and the second round of the NAIA Championship Tournament in 2016–17.

IT'S JUST LIKE STARTING OVER: Friday's game at Concordia begins the Isaac Williams era of Otter basketball. Williams is the seventh men's basketball coach in Otter history. In case you're wondering, in first games under a new coach, the Otters are 3–3 all time. The winning coaches, you ask? Bill McClintock (81–71 vs. La Sierra University on Nov. 11, 1999); Pat Kosta (75–74 over Cal State L.A. on Dec. 1, 2006) and Rob Bishop (90–86 over Alaska on Nov. 18, 2008).

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: The Otters reached the century mark for the second consecutive game by hanging 101 points on San Jose Christian (now William Jessup University) in a 101–61 win on Nov. 10, 1998. Three days earlier, CSUMB torched Life Bible for 129 points in a 129–42 win. The 129 points still stand as an Otter record.

FOR OPENERS: The Otters have enjoyed recent success on opening night, winning 6 of their last  9 openers. Overall, CSUMB is 9–10 on opening night dating back to 1998–99.

OPENERS ON THE ROAD: The Otters have a 4–7 record all–time when opening the season on the road.

SWEET HOME CALIFORNIA: The Otters haven't had much success historically outside of the Golden State, posting a 6–27 record in regular season competition outside California's borders. CSUMB's last win in another state was a 78–58 win over Colorado Christian in Fairbanks, Ak. on Nov. 16, 2012.

TOURNEY TIME: The Otters are 17–36 all–time in regular season tournament play. The last time the Otters won a tournament game was an 80–67 win over Holy Names University at the Cal Baptist Tournament on Nov. 14, 2014.

WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? The final five minutes of games were all but irrelevant for the Otter men's and women's basketball teams last season. The Otter men finished 4–0 when leading after 35 minutes and 0–22 when trailing after 35 minutes. The women, meanwhile, finished 7–0 when leading after 35 and 0–19 when trailing after 35.

60 SHALL BE THE NUMBER, NO LESS: With apologies to Monty Python, the number for the Otters shall be 60, not three. Following CSUMB's 72–15 season–ending loss to Chico State, the Otters are now 0–53 when scoring fewer than 60 points against NCAA Division II opponents dating back to the 2004–05 season, their first at the NCAA Division II level. The last time the Otters scored fewer than 60 points and beat a Division II foe was a 54–53 decision over Cal Poly Pomona in The Kelp Bed on Jan. 29, 2005.

The last time the Otters scored fewer than 60 points and beat any foe was (drum roll please), their 50–47 win over Cal Poly on Nov. 18, 20