BOX SCORE Cal State East Bay 71, Sonoma State 69 -- Box Score
HAYWARD, Calif. -- Despite a career-high 27 points out of the hands of
Sterling Arterberry, including a layup at the final buzzer, the Sonoma State men's basketball team came up short, 71-69, to Cal State East Bay on Friday night at Pioneer Gymnasium. Seven of the Seawolves' 13 losses this season have come by four points or less as SSU falls to 2-13 overall and 1-10 in the CCAA. The Pioneers rise to 7-10 (4-7 CCAA).
A pair of free throws by Arterberry with 10:58 left in regulation put Sonoma State up by seven points at 54-47. However, Cal State East Bay went on an 8-1 run to knot the game at 55-all with 7:29 to play. Both teams traded points during the next five possessions, but trailing by two at 61-59, the host Pioneers reeled off eight unanswered points to take a six-point lead (67-61) with 1:19 left in the contest. The Seawolves chipped away, but time would run out before they could tie or regain the lead, spelling defeat on Friday.
The two squads battled through six ties and five lead changes, but it would be Sonoma State that led Cal State East Bay for the majority of the ballgame. In fact, the Seawolves led for a total of 28:43, whereas the Pioneers only led for just over six minutes, including the final three.
Arterberry topped his previous career-high of 21 with Friday's effort, most of which came from the free throw line. The senior from Sacramento went 13 for 14 from the stripe, hitting his first 12 shots from there. He was also 6 for 9 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers to go along with eight rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
Justin Herold added 21 points on 10 of 19 from the hardwood, grabbing a game-high nine boards.
Mike Harris was the Seawolves' third-leading scorer, chipping in with just seven points.
As a team, SSU connected on 23 of 58 shots, a 39.7 percent clip. From three-point range, the Seawolves went 4 of 19, including an 0 for 8 effort in the second half. Sonoma also struggled from the free throw line, hitting 19 of 30 attempts from the charity line.
Gabe Kindred led Cal State East Bay with 23 points, followed by 18 from Mark Samuels and 14 from Jacari Whitfield. The Pioneers hit on 45.5 percent of their shots (25-55), but was just 7 of 24 (29.2 percent) from long range.
Sonoma State heads to Seaside to take on Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday night at the Otter Sports Center; tip off is set for 7:30 pm.
