CHICO, CALIF. - On Saturday, December 11th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team hit the road to face off against conference rival Chico State in a 7:30 PM showdown. The Wildcats would pose a tough test for head coach Rich Shayewitz and his group as they came in with a perfect 7-0 record to start the 2021-22 campaign and held a national ranking of #5 entering the contest. The Seawolves would look to put up a fight as they were coming off of their first win of the year in dramatic fashion as they defeated SF State the week prior, 54-51 in the Wolves' Den.

Forward Jaylen Wells continued his stellar season as he got off to a nice start for SSU. Knocking down a jumper and hitting a pair of free throws would help keep Sonoma State within two of Chico after the fourteen minute mark. Minutes later, veteran shooting guard Michael Smith would score his second basket of the game to make it a one point game under ten minutes. Early on, the Seawolves hung around and were able to force a couple of early turnovers and some highly contested shots from the Wildcats. After Smith's bucket, however, Chico was able to come down and hit back-to-back threes to give them a seven point lead and ignite the Wildcat crowd for the first time in the night. Shayewitz and his group would answer though with a spark of their own as guard Preston Blakely scored a layup and got the foul in the process. He would convert the free throw to complete the three point play and bring the game back to one possession. Blakely played an integral part in the Seawolves win over SF State the week prior as he helped facilitate the offense and also had a momentous three point play of his own to retake the lead late in the second half of that game. 

The Wildcats would begin to separate themselves under eight minutes as they caught fire from downtown scoring five three pointers and a two point jumper to close out the half and take an eleven point lead with them. The Seawolves would only manage three buckets in the remaining eight minutes of the half to contribute to their deficit. Up until that point, the game was back and forth and SSU was well in the contest against the #5 ranked team in the nation. Chico would finish the first half 10 of 21 from three point range to be the ultimate difference maker while SSU finished 2 of 7 in the first half. 

Sonoma State continued to attack the paint and stick to their strengths as Jaylen Wells drew a foul inside early in the second half to get to the free throw line. He would make both and then Preston Blakely would split a pair but hit a big three the next possession to bring the game back within ten. Despite Shayewitz and his team stopping the bleeding momentarily, the Seawolves turnover issues would come back into play as Chico State's defense began to wreak havoc in the second half. Five turnovers in the opening ten minutes of the second half would help to gradually open the door for Chico as they began to pull away. The Wildcats didn't really go on a huge run until later in the half and were simply able to cash in on the SSU turnovers and make more shots over the course of the half. The lead slowly grew to fifteen nearing the ten minute mark. The eight minute mark would prove to be the finishing point as the Wildcats went on an 11-0 scoring run with two three balls to fully swing the momentum and put the Seawolves down by as many as 22.

The game would finish with the Wildcats on top 61-81, and improving to a perfect 8-0 on the season and 4-0 in CCAA play. Sonoma State falls to 1-8 on the season but remain in the thick of things with a 1-2 conference record including the upset home win over SF State. Jaylen Wells continues to be one of the best stories for the Seawolves as the true freshman recorded his 5th game with double digit points as he led the way with 13 in the game for SSU. He played a big 31 minutes on the night and also went 7-9 from the free throw line showing his aggressiveness and willingness to get to the paint and challenge defenders. Nick Klarman and Preston Blakely each added 9 points of their own. Klarman added 5 rebounds and 3 assists to his stat line while Blakely shot an efficient 3-4 from the field. Center Jeremy Lillis did not get the start tonight but came off the bench for an effective 7 points while Wesley Gilbert recorded a team high 9 rebounds. 

The Seawolves return to the court Saturday, December 18th, as they remain on the road to take on Stanislaus State. Live stat and stream links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com and all games can be streamed on the CCAA Network. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. @SonomaSeawolves #NomaNation