ROHNERT PARK -- Despite falling behind 13-0 early in the contest and not scoring its first bucket until the 14:23 mark of the first half, the Sonoma State men's basketball team rallied to knock off visiting San Francisco State, 55-51, in another defensive battle between the two Bay Area rivals on Sunday afternoon at The Wolves' Den. 

The Seawolves have matched their best start in program history at 7-1, which was also accomplished at the start of the 1998-99 season, and will enter the New Year atop the CCAA standings with an unblemished 4-0 record.  The Gators fell to 4-4 (2-2 CCAA).

After SF State took what would be its largest lead of the game, the 13-0 advantage just five minutes in, the game would feature four ties and 11 lead changes, thanks to a 12-0 run by Sonoma State to come within a point at 13-12 with 10 to play in the half.  The Seawolves eventually took a five-point lead on two occasions before settling for the one-point lead at the intermission 32-31. 

The second half was extremely tight as neither team led more than five points at any one time as the score tied twice and the lead changed six times.  With 2:52 left in regulation, Nathan Molony-Benjamin scored two of his eight points on a layup to give the Seawolves a 49-48 lead, a lead that SSU would not relinquish.  James Davis then hit a three-pointer to go up by four points before both squads traded a made free throw.  With 22 seconds left, SF State's Udun Osakue scored on a layup to get the Gators within two, then regained possession on a five-second call when Sonoma State couldn't inbound the ball in time with 20 seconds left. 

On SFSU's ensuing possession, Osakue missed a shot that would have tied the game, got his own rebound, but was called for double-dribbling with six seconds left to hand SSU the ball back with the hosts still up by two points at 53-51.  Two seconds later, Ahern was fouled and drained both free throws to secure the 55-51 victory.

Ahern led the way with a game-high 18 points while Davis added 15 -- both made three three-pointers.  Sonoma shot 51.4 percent from the floor on 19 of 37 shots, including a 7 for 18 effort beyond the arc.  SF State was 22 of 47 from the hardwood (5 of 13 from long range) and was just 2 of 10 from the free throw line.  The Gators did outrebound the Seawolves, 29-19, however.

San Francisco State was led by the 17 points of Osakue, he was the only Gator that scored in double figures.

Sonoma State will now take a break from competition until 2015 when it will play host to Cal State Monterey Bay on Jan. 2.  Tipoff from The Wolves' Den is set for 7:30 pm.