ROHNERT PARK -- In front of another packed crowd, the Sonoma State men's basketball team sped past visiting Cal State L.A., 79-67, on Friday night at The Wolves' Den. 

The Seawolves (18-5) have won seven straight games -- and 12 of their last 13 -- to improve to 14-3 in the CCAA as they remain tied for second place with San Francisco State (21-3, 14-3 CCAA) and trail first place UC San Diego (20-5, 15-3 CCAA) by one-half game.  Both the Seawolves and Gators have three regular season games left while the Tritons have two remaining on their schedule.

Five SSU players scored in double figures, led by the 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks from Luke Cochran.  Ronnie Harris came off the bench to chip in with 17 points and six assists, Jimmy Golden had 15 points (all in the first half), Armani Nicolis dropped in 13 points with five boards, and Jackson Gion posted 10.

While the first half was a back-and-forth battle, Cal State L.A. never led in the contest, only evening the score on two occasions early in the first half, the last being an 8-8 ballgame just three minutes in.  That's when the Seawolves took over, riding the momentum of an electric home crowd and ending the half on a 29-19 run to take a comfortable 10-point lead (37-27) into halftime.  In the opening 20 minutes, Sonoma shot the lights out, nailing 53.6 percent of its shots on 15 for 28 from the floor while outrebounding CSULA, 19-10.

The Golden Eagles chipped away at the lead to begin the second half, pulling to within six points at 42-36 with 16:09 to go in the game, but the Seawolves went on a demoralizing 14-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to take a 56-36 lead with 10 to play.  CSULA would eventually get its deficit down to single digits (nine points), but with under four minutes left, SSU would prove it was too much to overcome, outscoring the visitors 12-9 the rest of the way to secure the 79-67 victory in front of 1,450 fans in The Wolves' Den.

When the dust settled, Sonoma State converted 50.9 percent of its show (29 for 57) and was a near-perfect 15 for 17 from the line (88.2 percent).  The Seawolves also had more rebounds (36-21), points in the paint (38-22), points off turnovers (20-12) and second-chance points (13-5) then the Golden Eagles.  Defensively, SSU held CSULA to 41.7 percent from the floor (23 of 53).

Sonoma State will put its seven-game win streak on the line Saturday night when it hosts Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7:30 pm in The Wolves' Den.  It will be Senior Night on Saturday as well; six Seawolf seniors -- Khalid Johnson, Ronnie Harris, Jimmy Golden, Topher Taylor, Luke Cochran and Nathan Molony-Benjamin -- will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony.