WarriorBasketball Notebook: Complete PDF Version

Looking to pick-up momentum and a higher seed in the CCAA tournament, the Stanislaus men hope to finish strong in the final regular season games this weekend.

Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.
vs. Cal State East Bay PIONEERS (6-20, 4-16 CCAA) | Fitzpatrick Arena, Turlock, Calif. | Live Stats | Live Video & Audio | Live Audio (100.5 FM)

Series Notes: The Warriors extended their winning streak against Cal State East Bay to 11 games on Jan. 24. Stanislaus now leads the all-time series 33-8.

Last Time We Met... was Jan. 24 in Hayward when four Warriors were in double figures in scoring in Stanislaus' 77-67 win. Wes Bartole had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals that night.

About the Pioneers: Cal State East Bay has lost two straight and is 2-11 in its last 13 game (2-3 in the last five) … The Pioneers try the most three-pointers in the CCAA at 25 per game … Jacari Whitfield leads the team with 10.7 points per game  with 55 3-pointers (32.2 pct.)

Saturday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.
vs. Cal State Monterey Bay OTTERS (13-13, 9-11 CCAA) | Fitzpatrick Arena, Turlock, Calif. | Live Stats | Live Video & Audio | Live Audio (100.5 FM)

Series Notes: Cal State Stanislaus is now 10-11 against the Otters (and 4-6 in Seaside) after the Jan. 23 game there. Warriors have won 6 of last 9 meetings.

Last Time We Met... was Jan. 23 when the Otters out-played the Warriors in Seaside in the 80-60 game. Christian Bayne led the Warriors that night with 12 points.

About the Otters: Cal State Monterey Bay is 5-5 in its last 10 and is coming off a 78-64 win vs. Cal State San Bernardino. The Otters are also 4-2 in their last six game … CSUMB is second in the CCAA in scoring, averaging 70.6 points per game … Evan Zeller leads with 15 points a game (59 three-pointers).

Regular Season Finale
Friday night marks the beginning of the finale weekend for the CCAA as the Warriors host Cal State East Bay. Saturday night the Warriors take on Cal State Monterey Bay after honoring the seven seniors in pregame.

Back to the Tournament
The Warriors have qualified for the CCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, March 5-7, in Stockton. They clinched the berth after Saturday's win at Sonoma State. This will be Stanislaus' fourth CCAA tourney appearance and second straight (won title in 2014).

Seven Seniors
Sixty-four percent of the players on the current active roster will be playing in their final home game this Saturday night as seven of the 11 Warriors are all seniors. In a pre-game event, seniors to be recognized are Shey Mataele, Chris Read, Tyler Barber, Rob Walters, Wes Bartole, Clinton Tremelling and Brian Lopez … By the way, the other four players consist of three freshmen (2 true, 1 redshirt) and a junior.

Picking Up Momentum?
The Warriors would love to take a three-game winning streak into the CCAA tournament with a pair of wins to close out the regular season. Last year, they won four straight going into the postseason and went undefeated until the West Region title game with a nine-game winning streak.

Read Back on Track
Chris Read scored 37 points in two games last weekend, getting back on track offensively. He scored a season-high 23 points in Saturday's win at Sonoma State, his best game since 21 points against SF State on Jan. 17. Read now averages 12.6 points a game … He now has 43 double-digit scoring games (5 20-point games) in his two-year Stanislaus career.

Bartole Boards
Wes Bartole has led the team in rebounding 14 times now, including six of the last seven games. He had four 10-plus rebound games in the seven contests and during that stretch is averaging 8.9 rebounds a game.

Winning Formula
The Warriors were pretty tough to beat this season when they have the lead at halftime and they also held on to late leads. This season they are 12-1 with a lead at the break and 15-1 when holding a lead with 5:00 left to play in regulation … Stanislaus is also 11-3 when they shoot 40 percent or better from the floor.

Since Being On Top
The Warriors have gone 4-6 since taking over sole possession of first place back on Jan. 17. After beating SF State that night, the Warriors were 11-4 overall and 8-2 in the CCAA.

Margins of Winning & Defeat
In the four victories during the 10-game stretch, the Warriors have won by an average of 5.5 points (thanks to a 10-point win over Cal State East Bay. On the flip side, in the six losses, the average margin was 15.0 (with two 20-plus-point defeats).

Handling the Rock
In the last 10 games, when the Warriors gone 4-6,  the Warriors have turned the ball over more than before. They have averaged 12.4 turnovers a game. In games where they have fewer turnovers than the opposition, the Warriors are 10-0 this season.

Tournament Seeding
With a first round bye out of reach, the Warriors could still move up as high the No. 3 seed with two wins and at least a Humboldt State or UC San Diego loss this weekend. Of the four teams in second through sixth, Stanislaus is the only team not playing an already qualified team. Humboldt State, UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino are playing each other.

20-Win Seasons
Last year's 23-win season was the program's  fourth 20-plus wins season:

20-Win Seasons
1986-87    Bob Thomason    20-8
1988-89    John Jones    21-8
1992-93    John Jones    20-8
2013-14    Larry Reynolds    23-9

Program's Best Record
Cal State Stanislaus set a program record with 23 wins in 2013-14, more than doubled the win-total from the previous year (10). The last time a Stanislaus team posted 20 wins was in 1992-93 under John Jones (20-8), the only other time a Warrior team had 20 wins since Cal State Stanislaus became a Division II program.

CCAA Basketball Championships
The 2014-15 CCAA Men's & Women's Basketball Championship tournament will be held March 5-7. Six teams qualify for the event to be held at the Stockton Arena in Stockton. The winner of the tournament would receive the automatic bid for the NCAA tournament … The men's tournament games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday with the Saturday championship game at 7:30 p.m.