ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Monday, December 20th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team took on the Lumberjacks of Humboldt State in a Nor Cal showdown just before the holiday break. Both teams came into the contest with just one win in conference play as they looked to climb the standings early in the regular season. Head coach Rich Shayewitz and his group came off of a tough road loss to Stanislaus State over the weekend. Despite holding an 11-point lead in the first half, the Warriors caught fire from deep and were able to flip the script for a 21-point victory. With a lot to build off of and take away from that game, the Seawolves looked to bounce back at home and grab a conference win before the holiday break. Last time at home, Sonoma State upset bay area rival SF State 54-51 as they would look to use some of that home court magic tonight. 

As the game got underway, the Seawolves would jump out to a 9-5 lead just before the games first media timeout. Michael Smith and Jaylen Wells recorded the first two buckets for SSU as Smith finished a nice driving layup to open the game while Wells connected on a high arching three ball to add to their lead. Coming into the contest, the Seawolves had struggled from the beyond the arc all season long, shooting just 26% from that mark. They would however, connect on four deep balls in the first half and finish over 35% at the break. One of the several big stories for the Seawolves tonight was their effectiveness defensively. They held Humboldt State to just 22 points in the first half on 29% shooting. The Jacks struggled from deep, hitting only 2 of 14 three pointers. SSU was also able to force 10 first half turnovers in which they were able to outscore HSU 12-4 off of turnovers. 

Senior shooting guard Kenny Olsem had one of his most efficient scoring nights of his career. He finished the first half with a game high 14 points on 4-5 shooting as well as a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Olsem's unique ability to fool defenders and change directions effortlessly allowed for him to get deep into the paint for high percentage looks at the rim. Olsem was also a key piece in solving the Jacks full court press as he helped facilitate the ball and push the ball up court to break the pressure. Freshman Jaylen Wells continues to make headlines as he had a productive first half, connecting on three deep balls giving him 9 points at the break. Wells would finish the game 3-3 from downtown despite shooting just 24% from that mark on the season. As we got under ten minutes left in the half, SSU went down 11-13 for the first time since earlier in the game after controlling much of the half. From there, they would go on a 13-4 run to give themselves a 24-17 lead under seven minutes. During that stretch, Jaylen Wells got it started with a straight away three to retake the lead 14-13. Out of the next media timeout, some great ball movement by Shayewitz and his offense would setup Jacob Williams out on the left wing where he would connect on a three ball to give SSU a momentous 17-13 lead with back-to-back three's. 

Minutes later, after forcing one of the Jacks 10 turnovers in the half, Wells would come down the court and hit his third three of the half to give Sonoma State a five point lead. In the closing minutes of the first half, Kenny Olsem would take over and really hurt Humboldt State on their full court press. Olsem helped break the press and was able to convert several opportunities to grow the Seawolves lead before the half. In the final seven minutes, Olsem recorded 8 points including a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Seconds before halftime, Michael Smith would create his own shot and hit a beautiful fade away jump shot in the middle of the lane to give SSU a 12 point lead at the break. The Jacks were getting punished with their full court press as the Seawolves were able to break them down and score in transition. Shayewitz and his group defensively also forced 10 turnovers in the half and held HSU to just 29% shooting. 

A layup from Kenny Olsem and a pair of free throws from guard Preston Blakely would help SSU to a 6-2 scoring run to start the second half and give the Seawolves their largest lead of the game at 16 points. Sonoma State was not done there though as they would continue with the hot scoring hand and get all the way up to a 20 point lead near the 15 minute mark with high percentage shots and effective free throw shooting. The Jacks got into foul trouble early in the first half as SSU went 6-9 from the stripe and would continue on that pace early in the second half. Two more pairs of free throws would put the Seawolves at 10-15 in the game to start the second half. The worst fear would come next for SSU, however, as they would hit a wall offensively and go scoreless for nearly six minutes of action. Between the Seawolves 48th point an 50th point, the Jacks would cut the lead down to 12 with under ten minutes to play. With an effective big man down low, Humboldt began to attack the paint and create mismatches down low. The Jacks would finish the game with a whopping 42 points in the paint to help claw their way back into the game. 

HSU would get the lead down to as little as 10 around the five minute mark but Sonoma State was able to hold firm at that 10 point mark with some clutch buckets and timely free throw shooting. Just over five minutes, shooting guard Kenny Olsem made a nice individual move to get inside. After going up and under to the other side of the bucket looking for the acrobatic finish, Olsem would hand the ball off to forward Wesley Gilbert who make the catch and the finish for an electric and one. Gilbert would convert the free throw to extend the Seawolves lead back to 13. With time winding down, there just was not enough time to make up the deficit as Wells and Olsem combined for five made free throws down the stretch to help put away the Jacks. Sonoma State would take the home win, 66-56, and improve to 2-3 in CCAA play. 

Three Seawolves would finish in double figures in the team win for the first time this season. Shooting guard Kenny Olsem led all scorers with 22 points, a season high for Olsem. He also managed to hit that mark on an efficient 6-8 shooting and a game high 10 made free throws. Free throw shooting was key as a team for SSU as they more than doubled their made free throw attempts than Humboldt State. Jaylen Wells finished with a near double double, recording 16 points and 9 rebounds. He was also an effective 5-6 from the free throw line and finished the game 100% from three point range. Michael Smith continued his hot streak of back-to-back games with double digit points as he finished with 12 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists. The Seawolves defense also was on display tonight as they were able to put together a full nights performance, holding Humboldt State to just 38% shooting and only 10% from three point range. Kenny Olsem was able to record a season high 5 steals as well on the night with his active hands and positioning. His 5 steals also mark a Seawolves single game high this season. Wesley Gilbert came off the bench for a productive 18 minutes of action as well. The athletic big man finished with 7 points on 3-4 shooting and a block in the team win. 

Sonoma State improves to 2-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The entire CCAA will head into a holiday break for the rest of this week. Both teams will resume play on the road on January 2nd where they will face off once again against Humboldt State but on the road this time in Arcata. 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