ROHNERT PARK -- Led by the 16 points of
Mike Harris and 15 from
JJ Mina, the Sonoma State men's basketball team used an all-around effort to sprint past visiting Cal State East Bay, 71-51, in convincing fashion on Saturday night at The Wolves' Den. The Seawolves regain sole possession of first place in the CCAA standings at 5-1 (8-2 overall), one game ahead of four different teams tied for second place at 4-2 in conference play. The Pioneers stumbled to 3-9 overall (1-5 CCAA).
The two teams changed leads four times and tied three times, but with 11:51 to go in the first half, Sonoma State took the lead for good when Harris nailed a three-pointer, kickstarting what would be 16-0 Seawolf run over the next nine minutes to take a14-point lead at 29-15; SSU eventually ended the half on a 23-3 run, capped off by a buzzer-beater by
Andy Mitchell to send the hosts into the locker room at the half with a 36-18 lead.
In the second half, Cal State East Bay only managed to get within 16 points at 46-30 with 16:24 to play in the contest before Sonoma State stormed out to its largest lead of 28, a 66-38 advantage at the 4:55 mark before settling on the 20-point win.
Harris scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the first half, finishing with a 7 for 8 effort from the floor, adding four rebounds.
Nathan Molony-Benjamin came off the bench to contribute 13 points, six rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals in 19 minutes of action while Mitchell also saw time off the bench, netting 11 points in 16 minutes of play.
Sonoma hit 52.9 percent of its shots on 27 of 51 shooting while holding CSU East Bay to 32.2 percent on 19 of 59 attempts. The Seawolves also dominated the paint, outscoring the Pioneers 42-14 in the key. SSU also won the turnover battle, giving the ball up just eight times as opposed to 11 by the visitors.
Cal State East Bay was led by Jack Pasquini, who scored 16 points and had eight rebounds, all CSUEB highs.
Sonoma State, which played eight of its first 10 games at home to start the 2014-15 season, will now hit the road for eight of its next 10 games, including four straight starting with a Friday night date at UC San Diego in La Jolla. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
