SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - On Sunday November 14th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team played in their final game of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge hosted by SF State. After suffering a tough loss to Dominican University after being up by four at the half, the Seawolves would look to grab a win against the Urban Knights of Academy of Art before their home opener the following week. Rich Shayewitz and his group would jump out again to a four point lead at the half. SSU had a nearly perfect half as they shot over 50% from the field, went 4-9 from three point range and made 6 of 8 free throws in their first 20 minutes of action. The Urban Knights really struggled from 3-point land in the first half as they shot a poor 25% from that range and allowed SSU to gain the early edge. 

The second half would bring about excitement and intensity as the game would come down to the final possession. Both teams committed late and frequent turnovers to elevate the pace of the game and put both teams in the double bonus. Shayewitz and the Seawolves on the court played some stout defense with under four minutes left in regulation as Academy of Art would only convert two field goals during that span. After forcing a tough contested shot, Damian Williams would come down with the rebound and get fouled in the process to put him at the line with 25 seconds on the clock. Williams would go on to miss both free throws on the front end allowing Art U to bring the ball up the court and hold it for the last shot of regulation. 

The Urban Knights guard would hold the ball all the way down to under 5 seconds where he would fake a step back three and drive into the paint only to be met by a secondary Seawolf. The contested jump shot would miss the mark and SSU would head into their first overtime game of the 2021-22 season tied at 66 a piece. After going up 70-67 on a jump shot from veteran Nick Klarman and a layup by freshman Jaylen Wells, Academy of Art would go on a 11-4 scoring run to close out the game in overtime, 78-74. Turnovers were a huge turning point for the Seawolves as they would finish with a game high 25 on the night and Art U would convert 24 points on those tunrovers compared to just 16 for SSU off of their opponents turnovers. 

Despite the 0-2 weekend, Shayewitz has some pleasant bright spots to look forward to before their home opener this upcoming weekend as senior center Jeremy Lillis scored a career high and game high 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting. The 6'8'' Auburn, California native would showcase his new and improved skill set as he knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts and went 5-6 from the stripe to lead his team. Lillis would add four rebounds and a block to his stat line on the night. Nick Klarman and Michael Smith also added double digit performances for the Seawolves as they both combined for 23 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Klarman also recorded a team high 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Freshman Jaylen Wells showed his excitement as a new member of the Seawolves squad as he put up double digit points off of the bench. Wells went 4-10 from the field and added 3 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Sonoma State will make their home debut this upcoming week in the annual Ron Logsdon Basketball Challenge Presented by Cambria Hotel Sonoma Wine Country. They will take on Alaska Fairbanks on Friday night at 7:00 PM and then Western Oregon at 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Head to sonomaseawolves.com for the men's basketball full 2021-22 schedule, live stats and live stream links. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. @SonomaSeawolves #NomaNation