BOX SCORE ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- With 2.9 seconds left in regulation and Sonoma State with the ball out of bounds, Sterling Arterberry came around a screen under the basket, took the open pass from Steven Pratt, threw up a shot, got fouled and in the process, the ball bounced several times around the rim before finally falling through the net to knot the game at 60-60 with the game clock showing 1.2 seconds.  After a timeout, Arterberry swished his free throw and, on the ensuing possession, Cal State San Bernardino's half court prayer fell short, sending the Sonoma State men's basketball team and all 1,210 fans at The Wolves' Den into celebration with a thrilling 61-60 win in the opening round of the 2012 CCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. 

The Seawolves (17-10) advance to the semifinals and will face No. 1 seed Chico State (23-6) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in La Jolla.  The Coyotes see their season come to an end at 14-12 overall.

Sonoma State again proved to be too much for its opponents down the stretch as it overcame a seven-point deficit with 4:46 to play and a four-point deficit with 27 seconds to play.  After two free throws by Cal State San Bernardino's Hakeem Washington to put his team up 60-56 with 27 ticks left on the clock, Arterberry crashed the paint and threw up a shot, missed it, but grabbed his own rebound and put it back up and in to close the gap to two points at 60-68 with 15 seconds left.

After an SSU timeout, Ashley Arnott fouled Tre' Brewer immediately, but Brewers first free throw in the bonus rimmed off and Arnott came down with the defensive board.  Instead of calling timeout, the Seawolves elected to put the ball in Arterberry's hands and he delivered, scoring two points in the process of drawing the foul with 1.2 left on the clock.  Arterberry, as cool and calm as the other side of the pillow, sunk the and-one free throw, putting Sonoma State up one point, 61-60.

Amidst the noise level in The Wolves' Den, Cal State San Bernardino was forced to go the length of the floor and the inbounds pass went to Brewer.  Brewer turned around at half court, sent a floater into the air, but the shot landed far short of the mark, punching Sonoma State's ticket to Friday's semifinal against Chico State at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.

It may have been Arterberry's late game heroics that sealed the deal, but Justin Herold put the Seawolves in position to win and kept them there.  The sophomore out of Santa Rosa scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, accounting for more than half of SSU's points through the opening 20 minutes of play.  Arterberry finished with 10 points, making him the only other Seawolf in double-figures on the night.

Sonoma State would get out to a large lead in the first half, taking a 20-12 advantage after a layup by Herold at the 8:27 mark and the Seawolf lead would hover right around eight points, even stretching it to as much as nine points at 30-21 with 2:59 left in the first period.  However, Cal State San Bernardino closed out the half on a 9-2 run to trail by just two at 32-30 at halftime, much thanks to the three-pointer by Nate Roth before time expired.

In the second half, the Seawolves wouldn't relinquish the lead until a three-pointer by Theron Laudermill gave the Coyotes their first lead since the 17:35 mark of the first half.  CSUSB extended the lead to as much as seven points, its largest lead of the night, with 4:46 to play, but that's when SSU began chipping away.

Cal State San Bernardino was led by the 14 points of Roth, who hit four three-pointers in the contest.  Scooter Holmes dropped in 13 points and Laudermill finished with 11.  The Coyotes shot just 38.9 percent as a team from the floor on 21 of 54 shooting.

Sonoma State will now head to La Jolla to face Chico State in the semifinal round of the CCAA Basketball Championship Tournament on Friday.  The Seawolves swept the Wildcats in the 2011-12 regular season, but Chico State emerged as the outright CCAA regular season champions and is the tournament's number one seed.

All four of the top seeds won on their respective home floors on Tuesday night, setting up, not only the Sonoma State/Chico State matchup, but No. 2 seed Cal Poly Pomona will face No. 3 seed Humboldt State in the other semifinal game on Friday.

For ticket information regarding the continuation of the CCAA Basketball Championship Tournament at UC San Diego in La Jolla, visit the CCAA web site at www.goccaa.org.  The semifinals and finals will be televised live by Comcast Hometown Network.  Stay tuned to sonomaseawolves.com later this week for more information.