ST. GEORGE, Utah — Khalid Johnson secured a Sonoma State men's basketball victory with his last-minute lay-up, a 59-57 triumph over the Westminster Griffins.  The Seawolves (4-2) erased a halftime deficit and outscored the Griffins 29-25 in the second half in their last game at the Dixie State/Wingate Thanksgiving Classic Saturday night at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah.  Westminster, a Division II institution out of Salt Lake City, Utah, falls to 0-2 on the season.
 
The Seawolves trailed by as many as eight in the first half, but managed to chip away and get to within two points at halftime (32-30) after a layin by Cochran beat the buzzer
 
The Seawolves started the second half by scoring the first six points and taking a 36-32 lead at the 17:53 mark. The Seawolves managed to keep their second half lead until 3:40 left in the second half when the Griffins tied the game at 51. In the last four minutes, the Seawolves and Griffins tied twice, but with 31 seconds left in the half, Johnson drove the lane for the go-ahead score which eventually clinched the win for the Seawolves.
 
Luke Cochran scored a team-high 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor, and going 4 of 4 from the free throw line to go along with 10 rebounds. Jackson Gion also chipped in with nine points on 3 of 6 shooting, and Armani Nicolis also contributed eight points on 3 of 4 shooting.
 
Overall, the Seawolves shot 42.3 percent on 22 of 52, including 31 percent on three's (5 of 16).  The Griffins were able to connect on 13 of 43, shooting 30.2 percent. The Seawolves forced 12 turnovers and outrebounded the Griffins 38-26.
 
Sonoma State will be back in action Thursday December 1st when they travel to Santa Barbara to face NCAA Division I opponent UC Santa Barbara. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM.