BOX SCORE BOX SCORE
TURLOCK, Calif- Down seven at the half,
Will Olsem drained three three-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half to spur a 9-0 Seawolves run as Sonoma State shook off a slow first half to stun Cal State Stanislaus 73-69 on Saturday evening at the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock. The victory, the eighth in the last ten for Sonoma, completes a weekend sweep on the road as they improve to 10-8, 8-6 CCAA. The Warriors tumble to 11-7, 7-7 CCAA.
Just about all of the top teams in the CCAA won Saturday, so the log jam remains at the top of the conference standings. The Seawolves moved up one spot, from eighth to seventh, with their win, but they remain just two games out of first place.
One night removed from a big win over rival Chico State, the Seawolves came out a bit flat on Saturday. The teams would trade jabs throughout most of a low scoring first half before the Warriors used a 14-6 run to open up a seven-point lead by end of the frame.
Olsem, one week removed from his record-shattering 12 three-pointer performance against Cal State San Bernardino, was held scoreless in the first half. He fixed that problem quickly in the second by draining three straight three-pointers to turn a 30-23 deficit into a 32-30 lead for the Seawolves.
The score would remain tight throughout the second half. Both teams would have leads of as many as four, but in a half that featured an astonishing 13 lead changes and 15 ties, it's no surprise that the game's outcome came down to the final moments.
With the score tied at 67 with 2:01 to go, the Seawolves were given some chances at the line. They'd hit three of four charity stripe opportunities, to go up 70-67 with 55 seconds left. Eleven seconds later, the Warriors' Reggie Jones sank a layup to pull his squad within one. And when the Seawolves turned the ball over on the ensuing possession,with just 12 seconds left, things started looking promising for the home crowd.
However, a turnover by Ronnie Sawyer gave the ball back to Sonoma State with eight seconds remaining. A quick foul put
Steven Pratt on the line, where the senior hit one of two. However, his miss on the second was snatched out of the air by
Patrick Scott, severely damaging the Warriors' hopes.
The Warriors put Pratt on the line again and this time the Seawolves' senior star sank both, sealing the game for Sonoma.
The Seawolves had four players in double digits, led by 17 from
Sterling Arterberry. Olsem had 15- all on three-pointers- and
Justin Herold also pitched in 15 points and five rebounds.
Pratt finished the game with 13 points and 12 assists. His assist total is tied for the third-highest mark in school history and is the most since Pete Pontacq established the record with 14 on February 19, 2000.
The Seawolves shot 46.9% for the game and hit on 7 of 19 three-pointers. Rebounds were nearly identical.
The Warriors got 19 points from Reggie Jones and 12 from Donald Gaines.
The Seawolves will try to continue their stellar play next week when they host Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. After a January spent mostly on the road, the Seawolves will enjoy some home cooking in February, with six of their final eight at The Wolves' Den.
