Seaside, Calif. – After securing a share of the CCAA Regular Season Championship on Thursday by defeating San Francisco State, the Yotes were one win away from becoming the outright champions. Heading into the game, CSUSB held an overall record of 20-5 against the CSU Monterey Bay Otters. The game was tied, 39-39 at the half, but the Yotes came roaring back and took the victory, 109-95.
CSUSB shot 38.4 percent from the field in the first half and increased their accuracy to 61.1 percent from the field in the second half. The Yotes almost doubled their first half three-point percentage of 22.2 percent to 42.8 percent in the second.
CSUSB dominated in the paint scoring 52 points on the game against CSU Monterey Bay's 16 points in the paint. The Yotes also muscled their way to 43 rebounds leading to 23 second chance points. The score tied for a total of 12 times on the game with the lead changing an astounding 14 times. Once CSUSB found their rhythm, they sprinted away with the victory and for the first time in eight years, the CCAA Regular Season Championship, 109-95.
"What a great moment for everyone affiliated with San Bernardino men's basketball today" said coach
Andy Newman. "We played really well tonight and finally put a second half together where we played great defense and turned those stops into points. Scoring 70 points in a half will go down as one of the best second half's in the history of CSUSB men's basketball. So happy for our guys! A CCAA championship is an incredible achievement for these guys and very well deserved. Their hard work is being realized and I really excited about coaching them in the next few weeks. It's tourney time!"
Leading all players in scoring was
Brandon Knapper who scored 38 points and had two rebounds.
Daytone Jennings added his 11
th double-double of the season as he collected 26 points and 13 rebounds.
Darius Mickens and
Eddie Davis scored 14 points each. Mickens added seven rebounds and two assists. Davis also grabbed four rebounds on the game.
The Yotes sealed the No. 1 seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament and are scheduled to take the court on Friday, March 4
th, in Arcata in the semifinals at 8 p.m. The tournament will be streamed on ccaanetwork.com.
