Cougars win over CSUMB in season finale

Krystina Andrade

The CSUSM men’s basketball team collected its final win of the season over CSUMB, 90-84 at The Sports Center. Bryce Sloan, Dalton Soffer, J.R Williams and Khalil Fuller all scored in double digits.

 

The Cougars led at the 14:16 mark by eight points when forward, Darae Elliott, hit a jumper (13-5). A foul by Otter, Joseph Bosetti, resulted in Sloan going to the freethrow line and knocking down both shots to make it 12-17. Another layup by Sloan at 11:55 allowed the Cougars to keep their five point lead.

 

The Otters took the lead at 8:32 when guard, Chris Turner, scored a layup in the paint (28-26). CSUMB continued to lead for the rest of the half, its largest lead being 10 at 4:24 (41-31). The Cougars managed to cut the Otter’s lead down to five with Williams scoring five points and Fuller scoring two, ending the half 38-43. Sloan led the first half in scoring with 15 points and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

 

In the second half, the Cougars continued to trail the Otters. Fuller scored the first eight points in the first four minutes of the half (50-46). A three-pointer by Soffer allowed the Cougars to tie the game at 12:58 (57-57). Both teams traded the lead, but the Cougars officially secured it after a layup by Fuller at 7:18 (73-72).

 

From this point forward, CSUMB fouled CSUSM five times, resulting in the Cougars scoring nine points from free-throw shots. The Cougars secured the win when Sloan went two-for-tow in free-throws with six seconds left to play (90-84).

 

The Cougars shot 81.5% from the free-throw line. Williams ended the game with 18 points and shot 8-of-10 from the field. Fuller finished with 27 points after scoring 18 points in the second half and shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Soffer scored 17 points in the second half and finished the game with 19 points and four made three-pointers.

 

Monterey Bay was led by sophomore guard, Koen Sapwell, who had 19 points on the night.

 

The Otters finish the year 2-25 overall, 2-20 in CCAA play while the Cougars conclude the season 9-19 overall and 6-16 in CCAA.