HAYWARD, Calif. — A short run midway through the second half was enough to help Saint Martin's University pull away from Cal State Monterey Bay to earn an 87–77 decision in the opening game of the Pioneer Conference Challenge Friday in Pioneer Gym on the campus of Cal State East Bay.
CSUMB (1–2 overall) led by as many as 10 in the first half before SMU (3–0) rallied to take a 36–34 lead at the break. The game stayed close until a 9–0 burst midway through the second half gave the Saints a 58–45 lead that the Otters couldn't overcome.
Javon Johnson (De La Salle HS) continued the strong start to his sophomore campaign by leading four Otters in double figures with 18 points. Jailen Nelson (Carlsbad HS) added 15 points and four assists while Charles Johnston just missed his second consecutive double–double with 11 points and eight rebounds.
THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Using the Bill James safe lead formula, the game was statistically over when Kaden Hansen made a pair of free throws to increase SMU's lead to 84–67 with 3:29 remaining.
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK… The Otters have done a fantastic job of taking care of the ball this season and that trend continued Friday as the Otters committed just eight turnovers (against 10 assists). CSUMB has 11 more assists than turnovers so far this season (42–31), marking their best start ever in terms of assist–turnover ratio.
DOUBLE QUADRUPLE DOUBLE… For the second consecutive game, the Otters put at least four scorers in double figures. Friday night, the honors went to: Javon Johnson (18), Joe Wall (16), Jailen Nelson (15) and Charles Johnston (11).
YOU CALL THOSE SUBS? SMU had a lot of never calling its bench players subs Friday night as the Saints got most of their production from their bench, which scored 54 of the the Saints' 87 points. Marcel Stevens led the reserves and all scorers with 20 points.
LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Javon Johnson 18; REBOUNDS: Charles Johnston 8; ASSISTS: Jailen Nelson 4; BLOCKS: Four Otters 1; STEALS: Charles Johnston 2.
THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters conclude their season–opening 4–game roadtrip at the Pioneer Conference Challenge Saturday when the face PacWest Conference rival Dominican University at 5 p.m. in Pioneer Gym.
GO OTTERS!
