ARCATA, CALIF. - On Sunday, January 2nd, the Sonoma State men's basketball team resumed their season after the holiday break and in the new year in a face off against Nor Cal rival Humboldt State. The Seawolves started to turn the corner in their previous games before the holiday break as they held a commanding lead against Stanislaus State on the road and also grabbed a home win over SF State two weeks prior. On December 20th in the teams final game of 2021, SSU recorded their second conference win at home over the Lumberjacks of Humboldt State in convincing fashion. Head coach Rich Shayewitz and his squad held nearly a 20-point lead at one point but finished the game with a 10-point margin of victory over a competitive Humboldt State team. The team would travel to Arcata to meet HSU once again as we kickoff 2022 and the rest of the regular season.   

The Seawolves were presented with a unique situation in today's contest as they would have to play short-handed due to some players being held out and in health and safety protocols. Senior Isaiah Usher and transfer Simon Ramirez would set some career highs as they saw significant amounts of playing time. The game would have a slow start as only two combined baskets were made in the opening two minutes. After the Jacks hit a jumper on their opening possession, SSU would go scoreless for nearly six minutes allowing HSU to start the game on a 15-0 run. The Seawolves created several chances and were aggressive on the offensive glass creating multiple chances but were unable to find the stroke early on. 

Forward Wesley Gilbert and Simon Ramirez would hit back-to-back buckets to get SSU on the board and cut the Jacks lead down to nine. HSU would respond though and catch fire from downtown as they would hit back-to-back threes to extend their lead back to 17 with 12 minutes left in the half. The deficit would only grow as Humboldt State went on another scorching 10-0 scoring run to give them their largest lead of the game at that point, 12-37 under the six minute mark. A jumper from Wesley Gilbert would end the scoring run for the Jacks and sharp shooter Jacob Williams would help cut the lead down with a score on a driving layup. Under the two minute mark, senior transfer Simon Ramirez would start to show off his arsenal as he began attacking the rim and getting downhill. He would get himself to the free throw line on three different occasions and go 5-6 during that stretch to help lead SSU at the half. The Seawolves would find themselves down 23-52 after the first 20 minutes of action. 

The Seawolves' struggles from beyond the arc would continue once again as they went just 2 of 15 from that mark in the first half. On the other hand, Humboldt State was a productive 6 of 13 from three as that helped contribute to their 29 point halftime lead. 18 of SSU's 23 first half points came inside the paint as they continued to attack inside and get higher percentage looks. They would finish the half 9-11 from the free throw line as well. Sonoma State simply had trouble converting shots and getting stops on the defensive end. The second half would show several improvements for SSU as they outscored the Jacks 37-32 on 55% shooting. HSU would feel the shooting woes from three as SSU had in the first and go 0-11 to finish the game. Eight second half turnovers would prove detrimental for the Seawolves after giving up only five in the first half. Humboldt would convert 19 points off of those turnovers and dominate the paint in the second half, 30-18, to close out the game and take the win 60-84. 

Senior guard Isaiah Usher would record his first start of the season as he finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, in 16 minutes of action. Veterans Wesley Gilbert and Jake Salinero would lead the way for SSU as both finished in double figures, Gilbert with a team high 15 and Salinero with 11. Gilbert would also shoot a team high 54% from the field and add 7 rebounds to his resume. Simon Ramirez put in an effective 21 minutes of action off the bench as he finished with 8 points and went 5-6 from the free throw line. Senior forward Nick Klarman got back into the action this week as he finished with 9 points on 3-9 shooting. Despite going 0-4 from three point range, Klarman was perfect from the stripe and also added three boards in his 35 minutes of action. 

Sonoma State falls to 2-10 on the season and 2-4 in CCAA play. They will stay on the road next week as they head down south to take on Cal State LA on Thursday January 6th and then Cal State San Marcos on Saturday the 8th. 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