HAYWARD, Calif. -- Armani Nicolis had career-highs of 18 points and nine rebounds, and Jackson Gion and Luke Cochran chipped in with double-digit scoring figures while the No. 1 defense in all of Division II buckled down and took care of business in the second half as the Sonoma State men's basketball team rallied past host Cal State East Bay for a convincing 64-55 win Friday night at Pioneer Gym in Hayward.

The Seawolves (16-5) have won 10 of their last 11 games and remains in a tie for second place in the CCAA with San Francisco State at 12-3 in conference play; Sonoma and SF State are just one-half game behind league-leader UC San Diego (18-5 overall, 13-3 in the CCAA) with five games remaining in the regular season.

Sonoma got off to a bit of a slow start, falling behind 11-5 just five minutes into the contest, but an 11-0 run over the next five minutes saw the Seawolves take a five point lead at 16-11, stretching it to as much as seven points at 26-19 with 5:06 to play in the opening stanza.  However, Cal State East Bay responded with 10 unanswered points and ended the half on a 15-3 run to lead 34-29 at the intermission.

The second half played out to be extremely close for the majority of the 20 minutes as neither team led by more than four points during a 17-minute stretch of the final period.  In that span, the Seawolves, with the stingiest defense in the nation, held the Pioneers to just 3 for 17 shooting (1 for 8 beyond the arc), forcing seven turnovers.  Cal State East Bay was able to drop in eight much-needed points from the free throw line to keep things close as Sonoma was on fire, knocking down 50 percent of its shots (10 for 20).

With the game tied at 49-all, Jackson Gion splashed a three-ball with just under three minutes to play, then he rolled in a layup on the Seawolves' next possession to give SSU a five-point advantage at 54-49.  The defense continued to dominate the other end of the floor, allowing two free throws by Khalid Johnson and another by Cochran at the 1:00 mark to put Sonoma up by eight points at 57-49.  It became a free throw shooting contest from there on out and Sonoma State prevailed, hitting 10 of their final 12 free throws to pull away and secure the 64-55 victory.

As a team, the Seawolves hit 44.2 percent of their shots (19 of 43), but only connecting on 18.8 percent of long range attempts (3 of 16).  Defensively, Sonoma allowed Cal State East Bay to drop in 28.6 percent of its shots (14 for 49); it's the third time this season SSU held its opponent under 30 percent shooting.  By allowing only 55 points, the Seawolves improved their NCAA Division II-best scoring defense from allowing just 57.5 points per game to 57.4.

Cal State East Bay was led by the 14-point effort of Jalen Richard.

Sonoma State wraps up its brief two-game road trip Saturday night against Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside.  Tipoff from the Otter Sports Center is set for 7:30 pm.