ROHNERT PARK -- After two weeks off from competition to enjoy food and family, the Sonoma State men's basketball team will open its 2012 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule against Cal State Monterey Bay this Friday (Nov. 30), followed by Cal State East Bay on Saturday (Dec. 1). The Seawolves will play their next four out of five games in The Wolves' Den before the holiday intermission.
Live on the Seawolf Sports Network: Tim Davidson and Corey Neal will have the call live on Seawolf Sports Network this weekend. Links to the live video broadcast, as well as live stats, are located below. Tip off is set for 7:30 pm both nights.
Classic Recap: Just two weeks ago, Sonoma State hosted the 12th Annual Ron Logsdon Basketball Classic, sponsored by Sonoma State Enterprises, where they finished 1-1. The Seawolves' first game against Minnesota State was a well-fought battle, but MSU came away with the 75-68 win.
Patrick Scott scored a total of 28 points to lead all scorers, while the Mavericks' Jarvis Williams scored 14 to lead his team in the victory. Sonoma looked for revenge when they took on -- and beat -- the Penguins of Dominican in an overtime thriller, 91-87. Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten came out strong in the second half for Dominican, leading all scorers with 32 points. However, there were six Seawolves in double figures, including 20 from
Jason Walter and 14 from
Will Olsem, who was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Olsem and Scott helped fill out the All-Tournament team, while Minnesota State's Williams took home MVP honors. Scott earned CCAA Player of the Week for his efforts in the tournament, averaging 21.0 points and 3.0 assists per game.
Scouting Cal State Monterey Bay: With wins against Pacifica College, Colorado Christian, and Dominican under their belt, the Otters are off to a 3-2 start in the early season. This weekend's game against Sonoma State is also their CCAA opener. CSUMB was 1-1 agasint the Seawolves last season, including an 80-72 overtime win in Seaside. However, SSU does hold the 12-6 series lead coming into this weekend. The 2011-12 season was a down year for the Otters as they finished the season at a 3-23, 2-20 CCAA mark. Freshman guard Alex Fertig is currently the leading scorer for the Otters coming off the bench, averaging 17.0 points per game through the team's first five games. Fertig is also shooting a cool .500 from three-point land (8-16), while Geoff McIntosh leads the team with 10 three-pointers made. Brandon Ward begins his senior campaign averaging 12.6 points per game.
Scouting Cal State East Bay: The Pioneers of Cal State East Bay ended last season with a 10-16, 8-14 CCAA record and have begun this season with a 1-2 record in pre-conference play. CSUEB's lone win of 2012-13 came in a narrow one-point game against Notre Dame de Namur. The Pioneers split the season series with the Seawolves in 2011-12, including a 33-point blowout of SSU in Rohnert Park; the Pioneers lead the all-time series 33-29. Junior guard Gabe Kindred leads the Pioneers in scoring with 12.0 points per game, followed by Jurrell Turner with 11.3. Cal State East Bay begins conference play at San Francisco State on Friday, before heading north to The Wolves' Den on Saturday.
Olsem, For Three: Senior guard
Will Olsem is currently one three-point basket away from passing Andrew Kochevar (214) on the all-time three-pointers made list. The native of Sacramento is also third in all-time three-point shooting percentage at .433, behind Kochevar (.441) and current Cal State Monterey Bay assistant coach and Sonoma State Hall of Famer Vince Inglima (.445). Olsem also sits atop the list of three-pointers attempted (494) and will be playing in his 85th game for the Seawolves on Friday.
Happy New Year: Last season, Sonoma State got off to a 5-7 start before winter break. However, the new year was good to both newcomer
Justin Herold and the Seawolves as the SSU have posted a 13-5 record thus far in 2012. Herold got his first start on Jan. 12, 2012 in a 81-69 win over San Francisco State where he dropped in 19 points. After that, the Seawolves continued their winning ways going 12-4, behind Herold's 14.8 points per game, not to mention his momentum-changing slam dunks.
Seawolves' Notes: Sonoma State began this year looking to gain experience, going up against DI teams such as St. John's (L, 55-73) and Saint Mary's (L, 69-95) in exhibition games ... According to the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, the Seawolves are slated to finish sixth, following a fourth-place finish in last year's standings ... Through two games, four SSU players are averaging double-digit points.
Patrick Scott leads the way, averaging 21.0 per game,
Will Olsem follows with 13.0 per game and has already drained seven shots from beyond the arc,
Jason Walter has taken over the point guard position for SSU, averaging 12.5 points per game, has dished out six assists and has made 11-of-13 from the charity stripe and, although he has not started a game yet for Sonoma State this season, Herold rounds out the top four scorers, averaging 10.5 points per contest and is one of three SSU players with 10 rebounds on the season.
