SAN MARCOS, Calif. — Three Sonoma State men's basketball players scored in double-figures, including a game-high 15 points from Jimmy Golden, in a tightly-contested 70-64 road victory over Cal State San Marcos on Saturday night. Sonoma improves to 13-5 on the year, and 9-3 in conference play, moving into a tie for third place with San Francisco State. Meanwhile, the Cougars fall to 13-8 on the year, and 8-6 in the conference.
 
This game had the making of a back-and-forth battle from the very beginning. The conference opponents traded baskets over the first several minutes of the game with neither team able to find any separation. However, with 12:45 left in the half the Seawolves found themselves trailing 18-14. That four-point deficit would be the largest Sonoma would trail the entire night, as a Jackson Gion three would be the start of a 10-0 run. Now leading 24-18, the Seawolves would remain in front the remainder of the half. They led by as many as eight points a Mason Phillips jumper made the score 32-24 with 2:32 remaining in the half. The Seawolves would go into halftime with a 37-30 lead, thanks in large part to Phillips and Golden, who both scored 10 points in the opening frame.
 
The second half started off similar to the first one with both teams trading baskets over the first minute. Then, the Seawolves went cold over the next several minutes, and the Cougars were able to tie the game at 44 with 14:53 left. From there, the Seawolves fell behind 49-48 with 9:24 to go before going on a 9-0 run to jump to a 57-49 lead. Sonoma was able to increase the lead to 10 on two separate occasions in the second half, once at 63-53 with 1:12 left, and the other at 68-58 with 0:25 left before settling for the six-point win in the end.
 
When the final buzzer went off, the Seawolves found themselves shooting 47.9 percent while going 23 for 48 from the floor, and able to convert 8 of their 15 three-pointers, good for 53.3 percent. The defense held the Cougars to 43.6 percent shooting, making 24 of their 55 shots, while only going 9 for 27 from distance, only 33.3 percent. A deciding factor in this game was the free throw differential. The Seawolves aggressiveness allowed them to get to the line 25 times, sinking 16 of those, while the Cougars were only able to go 7 for 9 from the line. The Seawolves also won the turnover battle, forcing 14 Cougar turnovers, while only committing 12. Although the final score indicated the game was close, the Seawolves were in the lead for all but 4:05 of the contest.
 
In addition to Golden's 15 points on 4 for 7 shooting, Phillips was able to add in 14 of his own, and Armani Nicolis rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13. Nathan Molony-Benjamin led the team in rebounding with eight and also recorded three blocks in the process.
 
The Seawolves will be back on the court on Friday February 3rd at 7:30 pm for Pack the Den Night against rival Chico State. It will be the first game back in the newly renovated Wolves' Den. The brief two-game homestand will conclude on Saturday February 4th when the Seawolves take on Cal State Stanislaus, also at 7:30 pm.