ROHNERT PARK, Calif- Of Andrew Kochevar's team-high 20 points, none were bigger than a pair of free throws with two seconds left that clinched a 64-63 win for Sonoma State over Cal Poly Pomona in CCAA men's basketball action on Thursday. Kochevar's free throws gave SSU a four-point lead before a buzzer-beating drew the final margin to one. The Seawolves improve to 11-14, 7-12 CCAA with the win while the Broncos drop to 11-13, 10-9 CCAA.
The win was the 200th on the Sonoma State sidelines for head coach Pat Fuscaldo. In his 14 seasons at the helm, Fuscaldo, the winningest coach in SSU basketball history, is 200-173. His career record stands at 230-222.
Sonoma State jetted to early leads of 8-2 and 17-10 before extending their lead to 30-16 with 5:42 left in the half. The Broncos then went on a 10-0 run to pull to within four at the break, 30-26.
The Seawolves were quick to push the lead back to double digits in the seocnd half and led by as many as 14 at 50-36 with just under 12 minutes to go before the Broncos started their comeback charge. Trailing by eight at 61-53 with 3:28 left, the Broncos outscored SSU 7-1 over the next 3:24, pulling to within two on an Angelo Tsagarakis three-pointer with four ticks remaining.
The Broncos fouled Andrew Kochevar, the top free throw shooter in Sonoma State history, and he swished both free chances to put the lead back to four. Those free throws proved big when Larry Gordon capped off a 27-point night with a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Kochevar had five three-pointers on the night and was 6-of-12 from the field. Freshman Blake Saunders had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Steve Cornett owned game-high honors with eight rebounds and six assists.
Gordon, despite getting off to a slow start, finished the night with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He had 21 of his points in the second half. Angelo Tsagarakis, who played a year at Casa Grande High in Petaluma, had 13 points.
The Seawolves will close out the 2007-08 season tomorrow night when they host CCAA front runner Cal State San Bernardino. The Coyotes, who lost to Humboldt State on Thursday, are in a first place tie with the 'Jacks.
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