ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Saturday, February 12th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team nearly pulled off their greatest comeback of the season against the hot shooting Toros of Cal State Dominguez Hills after being down as many as 20 points in the second half. SSU climbed all the way back to within three points in the closing minutes of the second half but ultimately fell 75-71.

Poor shooting from the Seawolves was unfortunately the story of the second half. Head coach Rich Shayewitz and his group only recorded 9 made field goals and were just 1-17 from three in the first half, there worst mark from three in a half this season. Dominguez Hills jumped out to an early 19-10 lead by the ten minute mark. Neither team was shooting over 40% at that time but the Toros were dominating the glass with their overall length and as a result were outscored SSU 6-1 in second chance points. Some early three's from Colton Kresl and Chris Seeley also helped buildup their nine point lead. 

The Seawolves defense did force 5 early turnovers but were looking to punish Dominguez Hills early by converting on some of those extra possessions. The lead would only grow for the Toros as they ended the half in the final eight minutes on a 23-13 run, connecting on four more three's to put them well over 40% and give them a 19-point advantage. SSU had some serious work to do but with a solid home crowd for the first time in over a month, they were equipped to pull off the improbable. 

Nick Klarman would start the second half off on the right foot connecting on a much needed three ball in the Seawolves first possession of the half. Possessions later, Jeremy Lillis would connect on another three off of a pass from Jacob Williams to cut the lead down to 15. Slowly but surely Shayewitz and his group were cutting into that Toros lead and the game became more and more tense as we entered under ten minutes. After the SSU defense forced a turnover Lillis would score inside and give himself back-to-back buckets to make it a 12-point game. Dominguez Hills would answer with three straight buckets to put the lead all the way back up to 20 points, the largest of the game. From there, the comeback was on. The spark would come off the bench from veteran forward Kenny Olsem as he helped lead a 17-5 run under ten minutes to pull Sonoma State all the way back to within eight points! Olsem connected on a three ball on his very first possession and then after establishing inside position, Nick Klarman would fit a tight pass inside the paint for the easy lay in for Olsem to make it a 13-point game. After an answered jumper from the Toros, Olsem would come back and draw a foul and go to the line and hit a pair of free throws to continue his stellar run. Preston Blakely also found a nice groove during this sequence as he connected on a pull up jumped in the lane and a massive three ball that brought the crowd to it's feet and made it an 11-point game. 

After Blakely's three ball, he would force a turnover and get a steal the very next possession but Dominguez Hills was able to knock the ball out of bounds just before Blakely attempted to hand it off to Jaylen Wells for the finish. The ball would remain with SSU and out of the in bounds, Olsem would ride the defender on the baseline and with a pump fake, get him in the air and convert the layup for the and one. The made free throw brought the game to within 8 points as the Seawolves bench was on their feet and riding the momentum. Once again though the Toros would answer with a made jumper and a huge three from Isaiah Morris. Sonoma State would simply not quit and behind that fight was Kenny Olsem once again. After another steal from Preston Blakely he would feed Olsem in transition where he would convert the layup and take the contact for another and one. 

The game would get as close as four points on a couple of different occasions after some made free throws from Jaylen Wells and a Blakely layup inside. With under two minutes to play, the Seawolves offense would run dry as they missed four crucial shots to potentially make it a one possession game. After a made turn around from Olsem in the lane to make it a four point game again, Shayewitz would be forced to foul as the game entered under a minute left. Colten Kresl would hit both free throws to put the game out of reach with under 30 seconds. Dominguez Hills would hang on by a thread to that 20-point lead earlier in the half and come away with the win, 75-71. A valiant effort from Sonoma State would fall just short as three Seawolves ended up in double figures after none hit that mark in the first half. Kenny Olsem had all 18 of his points in the second half for a spectacular finish to the game for him. Blakely also had a solid contribution off the bench with 11 of his own on 5-8 shooting. He would also record a season high 4 steals on the night, with 3 of them coming during the team's comeback in the second half. Shayewitz and his group more than doubled their point total in the second half but they would come up just short in the home loss. 

Sonoma State falls to 3-21 on the season and 3-15 in CCAA play. The Seawolves will hit the road and take on nationally ranked Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, February 17th and then finish the weekend on Saturday against Cal Poly Pomona. 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