LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - On Thursday, January 6th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team headed down south to take on the Golden Eagles of Cal State LA as they looked for a bounce back game after a tough road loss to Humboldt State. Despite the ups and downs throughout the course of the season and now COVID-19 playing a role yet again in the Seawolves season, SSU has managed to grab two key home victories over SF State and Humboldt State to give them a respectable 2-4 conference record. Freshman Jaylen Wells and senior Nick Klarman continue to lead the way for the Seawolves as they both average double figures on the season heading into Thursday nights contest. 

After a sloppy start from both teams including some missed jump shots and a couple turnovers, forward Wesley Gilbert would get SSU on the board with the first points of the game on a pull up jump shot with guard Damian Wallace getting the assist. After forcing a Golden Eagles miss on the other end, Wallace would convert a driving layup to give the Seawolves buckets on back-to-back possessions. Head coach Rich Shayewitz and his group were short handed once again tonight with several players in health and safety protocols. However, they did get senior shooting guard Michael Smith back who would contribute nicely on the offensive end all game long. Just under the 15-minute mark, Nick Klarman and Michael Smith would add to the Seawolves lead as they would hit back-to-back three balls to make it a 12-4 game. After a Cal State LA turnover, SSU would use the momentum as Damian Wallace would convert on a pull up jumper to give SSU an early 10-point lead. 

After a Golden Eagles layup just under 14 minutes, both teams would go scoreless for the better part of the next two minutes. With Sonoma State holding on to a 14-6 lead and multiple misses from the field, the next bucket would prove momentous for either team. That would certainly be the case as Cal State LA broke out of their slump and hit a deep shot from three. They would hit another three their very next possession to bring the game all the way back to just two points. Just under the 10-minute mark both teams would exchange three balls to keep it a two point game, but from there, Shayewitz and his group would lock in once again and go on an 8-0 run to make it a 10-point game once again. During that stretch, Jacob Williams would connect on two massive three balls. Williams would finish the game with a season high four made three pointers. 

The Golden Eagles would respond yet again, scoring five straight to bring the deficit to just five points. Williams would stay hot and hit from downtown again to extend the lead back to eight. Cal State LA would catch fire once again after the deficit got to nine points and go on a 10-2 run just inside one minute to take a one point lead. The Seawolves would seize momentum before the halftime buzzer though as Simon Ramirez continued his career night with a driving layup to regain the lead. SSU would force a turnover on LA's next possession and then capitalize with a Damian Wallace layup to finish the half and extend their lead to three points at the break. With only eight players suited up for tonight's contest, the Seawolves bench was huge all night long as they would finish with 34 points combined to end the night. 

After a much more back and forth start to the second half, Nick Klarman would connect on a three to tie the game at 48 a piece. During the Seawolves next defensive possession, they would give up five offensive rebounds and commit a foul, all of which would ultimately end in a Cal State LA layup to swing the momentum and take a two point lead. Despite the rebounding struggles, SSU continued to shoot the ball well from the field as Jake Salinero and Simon Ramirez would hit back-to-back three's to take a four point lead. Shayewitz and his group would lead for the majority of the second half once again but the final 20 minutes of action would prove to be much more tightly contested and make for an exciting finish. 

As we approached the five minute mark down three, Michael Smith would extend his point total to 15 on the night with a huge three pointer that also tied the game uo at 76. After the Golden Eagles hit a jumper to regain the lead, Jacob Williams would continue his terrific night and rattle in a huge corner three with just under three minutes left to take a one point lead. LA would respond in a big way on the very next possession. Despite a tough closeout from 6 foot 9 forward Wesley Gilbert, the Golden Eagles player would drill a corner three of his own to retake the lead. Both teams would trade a couple of misses for the next minute leaving the score the same, 79-82. However, a costly SSU turnover under a minute and a half would prove detrimental as Cal State LA would capitalize on that mistake and convert on an and-1 layup on the other end. The Golden Eagles center would miss the ensuing free throw but escape with the miss as Michael Smith couldn't connect on his three ball attempt on the Seawolves next possession. A defensive rebound for the Golden Eagles would seal the game as LA would go on to hit some free throws and win 82-88 in dramatic fashion. 

Despite the Seawolves hitting a season high 16 three's, Cal State LA dominated the glass and won the game with their presence inside. They would finish with a game high 38 rebounds and 34 points in the paint. Shayewitz and his group still have a lot to walk away with from tonight's loss as they shot 50% from the field, including a season high 29 made field goals, 16 made three's, and four players in double figures for the first time this season. SSU also finished with a season high 82 points in the loss. Some notable individuals for the Seawolves included Simon Ramirez and Jacob Williams. Ramirez, the senior transfer from Mayville State University, played a career high 30 minutes off the bench and did not disappoint. Ramirez finished 7-12 from the field, good for a team high 22 points. He would also go 3-4 from three, grab four boards, and record three assists. Jacob Williams also found his stroke from beyond the arc as he finished with a season high in points and three pointers. Williams came off the bench and finished with 12 points on the night, all 12 points coming via the three ball. Veterans Nick Klarman and Michael Smith also finished in double figures as the two of them combined for six made three pointers. Santa Rosa JC transfer Damian Wallace would also record a career high as he finished with an efficient 9 points on 4-5 shooting. 

Sonoma State falls to 2-11 on the season and 2-5 in CCAA play. They will stay on the road for the rest of the weekend as they take on Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, January 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