BOX SCORE Cal State L.A. 59, Sonoma State 57 -- Box Score
LOS ANGELES -- James Davis hit a three pointer with 1:19 left to give the Sonoma State men's basketball team a five-point lead, but Cal State L.A. responded with seven unanswered points, including two go-ahead free throws with six seconds left and, on the final SSU possession, Davis banged a three-pointer off the back of the rim and a last second tip-in attempt by
Justin Herold also bounced off the cylinder as the Seawolves dropped a narrow 59-57 decision to the Golden Eagles on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Sonoma State remains in search of its first conference victory, falling to 0-6 in the CCAA (1-9 overall). Cal State L.A., meanwhile, remains undefeated in the CCAA at 6-0 (9-1 overall).
Mike Harris and
Sterling Arterberry got the Seawolves off to a quick start early on, scoring the team's first 13 points, including nine from Harris on three 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the contest to build a 13-9 lead. However, with 7:52 left in the opening half, the Golden Eagles grabbed a 17-15 lead on a three-ball by Damon Potts and CSULA remained in control until midway through the second half.
Down by eight points (47-39) with 8:50 to play, Herold hit a jump shot that began what would be an 18-5 Sonoma State run over a span of seven and a half minutes, capped by a game-tying monster dunk by Herold at the 2:03 mark and Davis' three-pointer 44 seconds later, which gave the Seawolves a five-point, 57-52 advantage -- their largest of the game.
SSU looked to add to its lead and put the game away when CSULA was called for an offensive foul on its ensuing possession with 56 ticks on the game clock, but two turnovers and two missed free throws on the Seawolves' next three offensive possessions allowed the Golden Eagles to swing the momentum in their favor, thanks to a three-pointer by Joshua Munzon with 42 seconds left, a game-tying layup by Quinton Watkins with 13 seconds left and two go-ahead free thows by Munzon with 6.1 seconds left.
The Seawolves inbounded the ball and went the length of the floor. With two seconds left, Davis was found wide open at the top of the key for the potential game-winning three-pointer, but it went long, hitting off the back of the iron and into the hands of Herold below. With less than a second remaining, Herold tried to punch it back up and in, but his attempt also bounced off the rim and the buzzer sounded.
Arterberry scored a team-high 15 points and dished our four assists in 37 minutes of play. Harris had 13 points, but was held to just four in the second half. Herold recorded another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Davis added 12 points. Only one other Seawolf scored on Saturday night --
Steve Lackey netted six points in 11 minutes off the bench.
As a team, Sonoma shot 44.4 percent from the floor on 20 of 45 shooting, but was a dismal 47.6 percent from the free throw line (10-21). Cal State L.A. hit on 41.3 percent of its shots and were 14 of 19 from the charity stripe (73.7 percent). Both teams knocked down seven three-pointers. CSULA's Watkins led all scorers with 19 points; he was the only Golden Eagle in double-figures as he went 7 of 19 from the floor, including 3 of 9 from long range.
Sonoma State will travel north to Arcata on Thursday at 7:30 pm to play Humboldt State in the third game of a four-game roadtrip.
