CSUMB enters the game off a road loss at Cal-Poly Pomona 77-66. The Bulldogs and Otters do have a common opponent this season in Western Washington. The Bulldogs defeated WW on November 4 at the Save Mart Center 97-67 on a 61-point second half effort. CSUMB played Western Washington twice, losing at home 82-77 and in Bellingham 87-75.
Scouting CSUMB:
The Otters will come in undersized, their tallest player being Jacob Kernodle at 6’7; the next players down in size are 6’4. Its looks as though Ryan McBride, who was scoring 12.7 ppg is no longer with the Otters. The others scoring in double figures are Augie Johnston (16.3 ppg) and D’Shon Cannon (15.7 ppg) and Joe Mitchell (13.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg). An interesting note is that 6’4 junior guard Jose Sanchez who is averaging 8.1 ppg listed his last school attended as Fresno State.
Team stats of note for the Otters:
Averaging 70.4 ppg while yielding 76.4
Shooting 46% FGs, 34% from three, and 79% from the line on 112 attempts
Getting out-rebounded by around one per game
12 assists per game, but 15 turnovers per
For the Bulldogs:
The Bulldogs continue to be led by senior Point Guard Kevin Bell with his 17.4 ppg and his just over six assists per game. There are four players posting double figure scoring that are available, though Dwight O’ Neil was averaging 13.5 ppg before his wrist injury.
Hector Hernandez has had difficulty in the early season shooting the ball. Nevertheless, he still is averaging 10.3 ppg and a team leading 7.9 rpg. Hernandez is the player that needs to make strides and improve his play over the next few weeks. He is critical to the Bulldogs success.
This game should not be a contest that is ever in doubt. What this matchup does is allows the Bulldogs to work on some sets offensively, get some confidence shooting the basketball, and utilize this as an opportunity to go into the UNLV game with a clear idea of that they want to do. It wont be a physically demanding game so they will be fresh for Saturday, a game that will be extremely difficult.
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