SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Luke Cochran had a team-high 12 points and Armani Nicolis chipped in 11 points of his own, as the Sonoma State men's basketball team upset 11th-ranked UC San Diego Saturday night, 54-48, at Haehl Pavilion in Santa Rosa for their fifth straight win.
 
The Seawolves, who lead the nation in scoring defense only giving up 57.0 points per game, improve to 11-4 on the year and remain in a tie for third place in the CCAA at 7-2 with SSU's next opponent, San Francisco State.  The nationally-ranked Tritons, suffered their first conference loss, falling to 14-3 overall and 9-1 in the CCAA.

Sonoma's win was the first win over a team ranked 11th or higher in exactly five years; the Seawolves knocked off No. 10 Cal Poly Pomona 70-64 on January 14th, 2012.

The first half was a hard fought battle and really set the tone for the entire game. The Tritons of UC San Diego jumped to a 5-0 right out of the gate with 18:16 remaining. UC San Diego would remain in the lead over the next few minutes, and gathered their biggest lead of the night at 6-13 with 14:12 left in the half. Ronnie Harris then hit a three-pointer with 12:54 remaining, cutting the deficit to only four. Now only trailing 9-13, the Seawolves were able to hold the Tritons to only five points the final 12 minutes of the half, finishing on a 14-5 run and found themselves ahead 20-18 heading into the intermission. In fact, two of those five points allowed by the Sonoma defense in the final 14:12 of the first half came on a buzzer-beater at the end of the period.

The Seawolves shot 46.7 percent from the floor, going 7 for 15, and two for six from distance. Cochran led the team in scoring the first half, totaling six points, while going two for four from the floor. The defense was a significant factor in the half, as Sonoma held the Tritons to only 30.4 percent shooting (7 for 23) in the half, including 2 for 10 from three-point range. Nathan Molony-Benjamin, who holds the record for blocked shots in school history, also had three blocks in the opening frame.
 
The Seawolves found themselves in a hole early on yet again early in the second half with the Tritons regaining the lead 20-22, and once again 25-27 after an Adam Klie lay-up with 16:27 remaining. However, this would be the last time the Tritons had a lead, as the Seawolves found themselves out in front again after a Cochran jumper and Khalid Johnson three-pointer put them in front 30-27 at the 15:15 mark. The conference opponents would battle back in forth before the Seawolves embarked on a 9-0 run, jumping to a 42-32 lead, their largest of the night with 9:01 remaining in the contest.

The Tritons responded by going on a 6-0 run of their own and found themselves only trailing by four with 5:59 to go. Sonoma did not cave in, however, as they built the lead back to nine after a pair of free throws by Jackson Gion, and a lay-up by Molony-Benjamin made the score 47-38 with only 2:36 remaining to nearly put the game out of reach. However, the Tritons came roaring back with the help of Klie, who led all scorers with 22, including 16 in the second half alone. Klie was able to score five straight points and cut Sonoma's lead down to only four once again, now only leading 47-43.

After a pair of Nicolis free throws, Scott Everman hit a three-pointer to pull the Tritons within three with 28 seconds to go. On the ensuing possession, Jimmy Golden was able to make a clutch lay-up and was fouled, firing up the home crowd. After sinking the free throw, the Seawolves were now in front with 22 seconds left, and could smell the upset in the air. Sonoma was able to hold on to the lead the rest of the way and completed the upset 54-48 after some final second free throws.

The Seawolves shot 10 for 22 in the half (45.5 percent) and went 10 for 11 from the line, all while holding San Diego to 11 of 25 shooting (44 percent) and 4 for 11 from distance.

Playing behind an electric crowd, the Seawolves shot 17 for 37 (45.9 percent) overall and went 14 for 16 from the free throw line. They held the 11th-ranked Tritons to 18 for 48 shooting (37.5 percent) and only 6 for 21 (28.6 percent) from three-point range. The Seawolves also outrebounded the Tritons 27 to 26, including a team-high five from Molony-Benjamin, and four from Golden as well.
 
The Seawolves will be back in action on Saturday January 21st, when they take on the Gators of San Francisco State, in San Francisco at The Swamp to begin their three game road trip. Tip-off will be at 7:30 pm.