LA JOLLA, Calif- Freshman Will Olsem scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the first half, including five three-pointers, and sophomore Steven Pratt notched his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds helping Sonoma State sail to a 70-57 victory over host UC San Diego on Wednesday night at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla. The win propels the Seawolves into sole possession of seventh place in the CCAA standings with a 10-11 record in conference play and 11-15 overall. The Tritons fall to 8-16 (7-14 CCAA) and have been eliminated from the conference playoff race.

Cal State L.A. clinched the final playoff spot with the loss by UC San Diego, finalizing the eight teams that will compete in the conference tournament next week. Sonoma State, who clinched a berth into the playoffs with the win at Cal State Stanislaus last weekend, can jump into the No. 5 seed of the tournament with a win at Cal State East Bay on Friday and two losses by both Chico State and San Francisco State this weekend. However, worst case scenario, the Seawolves can be no lower than the seventh seed as SSU holds the tiebreaker over CSULA, due to wins over teams higher up in the conference standings.

It was a close contested game through the first 16 minutes of the game, but Sonoma State, after fighting through six ties and eight lead changes, went on a 11-5 run in the final 3:40 before halftime to grab a six point lead at 58-52.

Presenting the Olsem/Pratt show. Olsem went off for 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the opening half; all five made shots coming from downtown. Pratt added 12 points on 6-of-10 from the floor to lead the Seawolves, who shot 45.2 percent (14-31) from the floor. Sonoma State held UC San Diego to 40 percent on just 10-of-25.

In the second half, the Tritons made a comeback, forcing three ties and two more lead changes. However, the Seawolves could go on a 7-0 run to take a 53-46 lead at the 8:39 mark before UC San Diego called a time out. Two free throws would get the Tritons to within five points a minute later, but it would be as close as they would get. Sonoma State stretched its lead out to as much as 17 points before taking the 13-point win.

Senior Chad Chambers scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and senior Kyle Shandera added eight of his 12 scores in the final 20 minutes as well. The Seawolves finished at a 46.4 clip on 26-of-56 shooting, holding the Tritons to 37.0 percent (20-54).

For UC San Diego, Jordan Lawley, who averages over 20 points per contest, was the only Triton scoring in double-figures with 15 points.

Sonoma State will wrap up its 2009-10 regular season at Cal State East Bay on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then will begin to prepare for the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament, scheduled for Tuesday at a time, place and opponent yet to be determined.

Box Score: Sonoma State 70, UC San Diego 57