BOX SCORE LOS ANGELES- Trailing by 17 points at 54-37 with 5:41 left in regulation, the Sonoma State men's basketball team looked down and out after a dismal shooting performance early on.  However, the Seawolves would heat up, kick-starting a furious 19-2 run in the final minutes, including two made free throws by Sterling Arterberry with 7.4 seconds left that knotted the game at 56-56.  On the ensuing possession, Cal State L.A. run down the floor and found an open look from beyond the three-point arc, but the ball bounced off the left side of the rim and the game would go to overtime.  It was in the extra period that SSU took control, pulling off the improbable, come-from-behind upset victory over the Golden Eagles, 67-62, on Saturday night at the Eagles Nest in Los Angeles.

With the win, Sonoma State improves to 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the CCAA.  Cal State L.A. (9-3 overall) suffers just its third loss of the season and falls to 5-3 in conference action.

Up until a made three-pointer by Patrick Scott at the 5:57 mark of the second half, the Seawolves were 9 of 42 from the floor (21.4 percent).  Scott's three-pointer opened the offensive flood gates for Sonoma State, as the team went on to shoot 10 of 19 the rest of the way (including overtime).  Just when SSU started to heat up, CSULA cooled down.  In fact, the Seawolf defense didn't allow a Golden Eagle point in the final 4:47 of regulation.  The host's scoring drought continued into overtime, as Cal State L.A. didn't score again until the 2:19 mark of OT (a span of seven minutes, 28 seconds).

When all was said and done, Sonoma State finished at 19 of 61 shooting (31.1 percent) and 5 of 19 from three-point range.  Defensively, the Seawolves won the turnover battle, forcing 22 Golden Eagle miscues, which helped SSU score 24 points off said turnovers (seven of the 22 turnovers came in the final 4:47 of the second half) -- CSULA scored 13 points off 15 SSU miscues. 

During the 19-2 run by Sonoma State in the final 5:41, the last basket made from the field came on a three-pointer by Will Olsem with 2:30 left in regulation (which brought SSU to within five at 56-51).  The next five Seawolf points came by way of free throws, but SSU went just 5 of 9 from the charity stripe down the stretch (24 of 30 for the entire game); the missed opportunities at the line kept Sonoma State from completing the upset in regulation.

Tied at 56 to begin the extra period, Sonoma State scored the first five points, thanks to a layup by Arterberry and a three-point play by Herold, completed at the line after a foul on a made shot in the paint.  Cal State L.A. nailed a three pointer to come within two, but that would be as close as they would get.  Another three ball by Quinton Watkins got CSULA within three with 17 seconds left in OT, but Steven Pratt sealed the victory with a pair of free throws five seconds later.

It was a thrilling end to a game that began with either team not being able to make any shots.  Both squads combined to shoot just 9 of 44 from the floor in the first 15:36 of the contest.  At halftime, Sonoma State was just 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) and Cal State L.A. was 10 of 28 (35.7 percent).  CSULA led 29-21 at half.

After the Golden Eagles' Leland Jones hit a shot to give his team a 10-point, 31-21 lead, Olsem netted a layup and Scott hit a three to put the Seawolves down five 17:28 left in the second half.  That's when Cal State L.A. began pulling away, eventually extending its lead to 17 points (54-37) at the 5:41 mark, the largest of the night.  Enter epic comeback story here.

Four players scored in double figures for Sonoma State, led by the 16 of Scott (12 of which came from beyond the arc). Herold and Pratt added 14 points while Olsem recorded 11.  Herold was a monster on the glass, scoring his first career double-double with 13 rebounds (six offensive) and his aforementioned 14 points.  Pratt moved to within two points of 1,000 career points.  With 998 career tallies, he will most likely become the 11th member of the SSU men's basketball 1,000-point club in the very near future.

Cal State L.A. was led by the 20 points of Watkins and 14 points of Jones.  As a team, the Golden Eagles connected on 23 of 57 from the floor (40.4 percent) and just 4 of 20 from three-point range.

Sonoma State will return home on Thursday for a brief two-game homestand, starting with San Francisco State.  The Seawolves and Gators will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. in The Wolves' Den.