(Written by Craig Lifto, SSU Sports Information)SAN FRANCISCO -- James Davis led all players with 23 points and
Jabri Jenkins drained two free throws with nine seconds left in regulation before the Sonoma State men's basketball team's defense kept host San Francisco State from getting a shot off in the final seconds to earn a huge 56-54 victory over SF State in front of a sold out crowd at The Swamp in San Francisco.
The Seawolves, who are receiving votes in the NABC Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll this week, remain perfect in CCAA play at 3-0 (5-1 overall). The Gators fall to 4-3 (2-1 CCAA).
It was a nerve-wracking game for those in attendance, Jenkins' calmly sank both freebies before the stifling Seawolf defense suffocated the Gators one last time. In fact, SSU allowed SF State to score just 18 points in the second half.
The final score was indicative of how the whole game played out. The game featured eight ties and seven lead changes. The first half saw the largest advantage for either team being five points by the Gators and they took a five-point advantage into the locker room (36-31). The opportunity for victory was looking bleaker when the Seawolves didn't score for the first 3:35 of the second half and fell behind 40-31. The Seawolves turned the momentum around after that, when they went on 8-0 to close gap to one (40-39). Sonoma State scored one more point then their opposition the rest of the way and headed into their weekend on a high-note.
The key figure for the Seawolves was Davis, who scored 23 points 4 of 5 on three-pointers and 7 of 11 overall from the field. He also scored 15 of Sonoma's first 17 points of the ballgame.
Mike Harris added eight points and Jenkins chipped in seven.
Andy Mitchell led the Seawolves in rebounds with six.
James Slade dished-out four assists.
Sonoma State was 16-35 from the field (45.7%) to San Francisco State's 19-45 (42.2%). Despite Davis' four three-pointers, the Gators hit 7 of 14 (50%) from downtown to the Seawolves 4 of 9 (44.4%). The rebounds were dead-even at 24 apiece. The Gators had 14 assists to the Seawolves 11.
The leading scorer for the Gators was Derrick Brown, who had 19 points on the night. Bren Haley contributed nine points.
The next game for Sonoma State is Tuesday night at 7 PM against Holy Names University at The Wolves' Den.
