BOX SCORE Sonoma State 73, Cal State East Bay 72 -- Box Score
ROHNERT PARK -- A three-pointer by Jason Smith gave visiting Cal State East Bay a one-point lead with eight seconds left in regulation, but without any timeouts, the Sonoma State men's basketball team was forced to run the length of the court. With seconds running off,
Patrick Scott fired an entry pass into
Brandon Glanz, who fought off two defenders, lost then regained control of the ball below the backboard, took a step back and layed in the go-ahead bucket with 1.4 left on the clock. The Pioneers' ensuing half-court prayer fell short, allowing the Seawolves to earn the thrilling 73-72 victory on Saturday night in The Wolves' Den.
SSU, which has won three straight since its season-opening loss on Nov. 16, finishes opening weekend of CCAA play unblemished at 2-0 (3-1 overall). CSUEB drops to 2-3 and 1-1 in the conference.
It was a tale of two halves as Sonoma got off to a slow start, eventually trailing by as much as 11 points at 36-25 with 1:07 left in the first period. Scott hit a pair of free throws and Glanz scored what would be his first of two buzzer beaters on the night to get the Seawolves within seven points at 36-29 at the intermission. Sonoma State survived 15 turnovers in the first half alone, allowing Cal State East Bay to score 20 of their 36 points off said miscues.
In the second half, the Seawolves began to heat up, knocking down 16 of 29 shots (55.2 percent), despite the fact that SSU was held to 0 for 5 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
Down by eight points at the 18:05 mark, Sonoma made its move, outscoring CSU East Bay 17-2 over the next six minutes to take a seven-point lead at 49-42. The Pioneers chipped away and would come back to within two points at 57-55 at the 7:51 mark. Both teams would trade baskets down the stretch, but the Seawolves would hold on to narrow leads of no more than four until CSUEB was able to finally regain the lead on the three-pointer by Smith with eight seconds left.
Enter Glanz. Again.
Scott led all scorers with 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the hardwood, in addition to 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Glanz came off the bench to score 14 on 6 of 9, including the buzzer-beating shots in each half.
Steve Lackey scored nine of his 11 points in the second half, adding six rebounds and two blocks in the victory. Normally a three-point-shooting team, the Seawolves were just 2 of 15 from deep.
Gabe Kindred dropped in 20 points to lead Cal State East Bay, followed by 13 from Jurrell Turner. The Pioneers shot with 45.2-percent efficiency on 28 of 62 and, like SSU, was just as ineffective from beyond the arc, misfiring on 16 of their 18 shots from downtown.
Sonoma State will play a home-and-home series with San Francisco State this upcoming week, beginning with a Wednesday night showdown in The Wolves' Den at 7:30 p.m. The Seawolves and Gators will then play each other three days later on Saturday down at The Swamp in San Francisco.
