ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Saturday, January 29th, the Sonoma State men's basketball battled conference rival and 13th ranked Wildcats of Chico State in the Wolves' Den as they looked to avoid a five game skid and pickup their fourth win of the season in upset fashion. The Seawolves fell to Stanislaus State in a tightly contested matchup as four SSU players finished the night in double figures. Veterans Wesley Gilbert and Jacob Williams returned to the lineup for SSU giving the team their deepest rotation since the winter break. Chico State thumped the Seawolves by twenty earlier in the season at their place but with all three wins coming at home, SSU would seek the upset with a full roster and battle the 13th ranked team in the nation. 

Early on it was all Sonoma State as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead, starting 3-3 from downtown and forcing an early Chico State timeout. Despite the "no fans" spectator policy still in effect, a full Seawolves roster brought the intensity off the bench and they certainly had an impact on the game and the defensive toughness SSU showed early on. Jake Salinero, Nick Klarman, and Simon Ramirez each hit a three in the opening minutes to get the Seawolf offense rolling. Early on, the Seawolves coaching staff elected to play small with Ramirez and Klarman acting as stretch bigs. The strategy seemed to work out the gate but as the Wildcats settled in, their two big men inside got it going and were able to go on a 6-2 run to make it a two point game. Kelvin Wright Jr. and Malik Duffy were effective inside as Wright Jr. threw down some vicious dunks throughout the entire game and Duffy showcased his whole arsenal as Sonoma State had trouble solving their play inside. 

Nevertheless, Just under the ten minute mark, Kenny Olsem would come off the bench and after picking up an offensive rebound he would lay it up and in for the easy two. After a Nick Klarman block on the defensive end, the Seawolves would march back up the floor and center Jeremy Lillis would hit on a pick and pop three to force another Wildcat timeout and give SSU a 28-21 lead. Olsem was a great spark off the bench as he was 3-3 from the field with 7 points in his seven minutes of action. Olsem was elusive getting to the basket as he had two athletic finishes inside and then was able to hit on a catch and shoot three for his 7 points.

Chico State would outscore SSU 14-12 in the final nine minutes of the first half but the Seawolves would find themselves with a decisive five point lead over the 13th ranked Wildcats. Bench play was huge in the first half as SSU seemed to do everything right. Four players had 5 points or more at the end of the first half with senior guard Jake Salinero leading the charge at 8 points. The ball was moving and SSU's offense was free flowing as they found multiple ways to score and were also able to pose a threat from beyond the arc as they finished with a game high 8 three's in the first half. Despite shooting just 30% from three as a team this season, the Seawolves were able to go 8-13 from that mark in the first half good for 61%. Salinero and Olsem each finished the first half perfect from the field while Lillis and Ramirez were each 2-3 from the field. 

After a 6-1 run from Chico to start the second half, Lillis hit on a nice hook shot off the pass from Michael Smith. Smith would tie his season high and finish with a game high 4 assists in the contest. After forcing a couple of missed shots, Smith would continue to help the cause and connect on a catch and shoot three ball to extend the Seawolves lead back up seven. Over the next several minutes, the Seawolf offense would begin to cool down as they were just 1-5 from three at the nine minute mark and the Wildcats were able to start the second half 8-17 which would help contribute to a 23-15 run, earning themselves a three point lead. Sonoma State was still an efficient 5-11 from the field but Chico began to hammer the paint as Wright Jr. and Duffy were putting their imprint on the game once again down the stretch. Out of the media timeout, Nick Klarman would erase that three point lead in a flash as he streaked to hoop and finished through contact for the and-1. He would hit the free throw to tie the game at 58 a piece to make for an exciting finish. 

Wildcats guard Kevin Warren started the run for Chico State as he finally was able to hit some shots from deep. Warren hit a three early on in the second half and then connected on a huge one with under six to play to give the Wildcats a seven point lead. In the final four minutes, every shot the Seawolves made to bring it back to a one possession game, the Wildcats had an answer for. After Jake Salinero hit a smooth runner in the lane to make it a three point game, Chico would go on a momentous and ultimately game deciding 7-0 run including a huge side-step three from big man Malik Duffy. After an SSU missed three point attempt, Duffy would back his way down into the post and hit a turnaround jumper to give Chico their largest lead of the game at ten points. Michael Smith would connect on a three with under a minute to go to bring the lead down to seven, but Duffy would take the intentional foul and knock down both free throws to help seal the game. A hard fought battle form the Seawolves ended in a tough home loss to the Wildcats, 68-77. 

Sonoma state went toe-to-toe with the 13th ranked team in the country and really put on a team performance for the majority of the game. Their 40-point first half against one of the best teams in the country was one of their best performances all season long. Despite his multi-game absence, Nick Klarman finished in double figures in both games this week as he went 4-11 from the field and finished with 10 points and 4 boards. Jeremy Lillis had an efficient 9 points off the bench on 3-5 shooting. Senior guard Jake Salinero would lead SSU with 11 points on 4-8 shooting. Salinero was aggressive to the rim all game long and was also able to knock a couple three's down to add to his stat line. Despite outscoring the Wildcats 32-10 in bench scoring, the Seawolves surrendered 34 points in the paint and Chico was able to shoot 44% from three and hit some timely buckets from deep to pull away late. 

Sonoma State now falls to 3-17 on the season and 3-11 in CCAA play. The Seawolves will hit the road and take on bay area rival SF state on Thursday, February 3rd. Live stats 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. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation