Oliver benches three but Coyotes win

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - Cal State San Bernardino coach Jeff Oliver thought
it was time for a little tough love. His Coyotes turned in a
lackluster performance against San Francisco State a day earlier and
he needed a better effort to beat visiting Monterey Bay on Saturday.

So he benched leading scorer Brandon Brown, second-leading scorer
Devin Montgomery and Michael Lucas.

Message delivered. Loud and clear. The Coyotes came away with a
63-57 win over the Otters in front of 1,145 spectators at Cousoulis
Arena to stay tied for second place.

The trio missed a postgame team function after Friday's loss
resulting in their absence the next night.

``To me it was putting yourself ahead of the team, regardless of if
you have a bad night on the court. You have to stick together off the
court,'' Oliver said.

Several players came up big. But none more so than freshman Jordan
Richard, out of Los Osos High School. He had played sparingly in just
10 of 15 games but started in place of Brown. He more than held his
own, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and one
steal. More than anything else he altered the shots of those that
dared entering the lane.

``I didn't look at it as pressure,'' Richard said of his newfound
role. ``I knew my teammates were behind me and had confidence in me.
I just wanted to calm myself down and let the game come to me.''

While the stat sheet credited him with four blocks, Oliver was
more complimentary.

``I thought he had like seven in the first half. I think he had
like 10,'' Oliver said.

The Coyotes (9-7, 7-3) led by as many as 13 and were still up by
11 with 3:44 left at 60-49. But things got a little dicey in the last
few minutes.

The Otters (11-6, 5-5) cut it to five at 60-55 and Tim Denson, who
came in shooting 83 percent from the line, twice missed the front end
of a one and one.

It was 60-57 with 28 seconds left but Reggie Brown nailed his two
tries from the stripe to put the game away. He finished with a
team-high 14.

The Coyotes shot 38.3 percent, including a whoopping 31 tries from
long distance. They made nine of those.

``To me we have more talent than nay team in the league,'' Reggie
Brown said. ``We just have to play as a team, not as individuals.''

The Coyotes continue the homestand next Friday, hosting CCAA
frontrunner Dominguez Hills. Cal State Los Angeles follows the Toros
in to square off with the Coyotes on Saturday.