ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. – On Saturday, January 28th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team capped off an incredible evening of basketball with a thrilling 69-60 victory over bay area rival SF State. With plenty of promotion and buzz throughout the week, the Seawolves produced a near thousand-person crowd on the annual Pack the Den night in the Wolves' Den. They would overcome a 5-point deficit at the half and shoot an incredible 46% from three-point range to put up 44 points in the second half. The Seawolves slid into a tie for third place in the conference standings and will have a chance to make the CCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. 

FIRST HALF SSU 25-30 SF STATE:

The Seawolves offense would struggle to get going in the opening minutes of the game as SF State ran out on a 7-2 scoring run. A three ball from the Gators two possessions later would give them an early 5-point lead. With continuing injuries for the Seawolves, junior forward Pierce Rexford would step up and make his 5th start of the season in back-to-back games. He would connect on a catch-and-shoot three ball to cut the deficit to two near the 15-minute mark. 

The Gators would build a lead as many as 8 points in the first half with some timely scoring and solid defense. The Seawolves found themselves just 6-21 from the field with five to play in the half. Head coach Rich Shayewitz and his squad would answer though as they have done all season and go on a 7-0 run in the closing minutes of the game to make it just a one-point game. Jaylen Wells, Dillon Iyawe, Damian Wallace and Austin Fadal would all find the score sheet during that stretch. 

With just a minute remaining, sophomore forward Jaylen Wells would force his way to the free throw line and knock down a pair, putting the Seawolves down just two. After each team would trade missed field goals, the Gators would hold for the last shot and hit a huge three ball from the top of the arc to extend their lead back to five points and silence the crowd before halftime. SF State would go 4-9 from three-point range and make four more field goals in the half to hold the 5-point advantage. Wells and Rexford each finished the half with 7 points to lead all SSU players.  

FINAL SSU 69-60 SF STATE:

After trading early buckets to start the second half, Pierce Rexford would connect on a corner three ball to give the Seawolves their first lead of the second half, 37-34. Both team's offenses would start off hot in the second half, but SSU would start to heat up and get some stops on the defensive end as well. 

Nearing the 12-minute mark, the Seawolves would start to gain control of the contest and grab their largest lead thus far of the half. A great block from big man Dillon Iyawe on the defensive end would spring Nick Medeiros on the fast break. Medeiros would find Fadal in the corner who would then drive baseline and finish through contact for the and-1. Fadal would convert the free throw and give SSU a 42-37 lead. 

With just under nine minutes to play, Pierce Rexford would continue to stay hot from beyond the arc and connect on another corner three ball to give the Seawolves their largest lead of the half at 8 points. Wells was nearly stripped at the top of the key but after recovering, he would sling a pass to the corner and a quick trigger from Rexford would ignite the Seawolf crowd as they could see the victory in their sights. 

SF State wouldn't go down without a fight though as they continued to stay hot from beyond the arc. They would hit a pair of three pointers just a few minutes later to cut the deficit down to two points. This would only setup one of the biggest moments of the night though as Austin Fadal would answer with a corner three ball to extend the lead back to five. Two possessions later, sophomore Jaylen Wells would send his defender to the floor and hit a step back three late in the shot clock to send the crowd into a frenzy. Wells's three ball and mean mug would go into his deep folder of highlights as the Seawolves held an 8-point lead with four to play. 

Just a few possessions later and with under three to play now, Wells would continue his explosive second half and hit a pull up three pointer from nearly the exact same spot to once again give Sonoma State an 8-point lead. With the hot hand the three ball would act as the dagger for the Gators as they weren't able to make a late run. Four straight free throws from Nick Medeiros and Austin Fadal would seal the game as the Seawolves came from behind with big shot after big shot, winning the game 69-60. 

The Wolves' Den saw one of it's best crowds in recent memory, tallying a crowd of over 800 fans in the team's 9-point victory. Jaylen Wells would go for his 4th straight 20-point performance along with two huge three pointers down the stretch. DI transfer Austin Fadal had one of his best games of the season, recording his 3rd 20-point game of the season and shooting 7-12 from the field. 

Sacramento native Pierce Rexford had himself a career night as well and was very much the unsung hero for the Seawolves. He finished with a career high 16 points and 4 made three pointers in his 30 minutes of action. The Seawolves 6-foot-9 center, Dillon Iyawe, would record 8 second half points and grab a career high 16 rebounds, shattering his previous high of 12 earlier this season and good for top-10 all-time. Iyawe also had 4 blocks and was an absolute beast defensively in the second half.    

BY THE NUMBERS:

The Seawolves really tightened up in the second half, only turning the ball over two times compared to the Gators 6. They also outrebounded SF State 40-32, giving them 12 second chance points. 

After shooting just 32% from the field in the first half, the Seawolves would hit 16 shots and shoot nearly 50% from the field, giving them a 44-point second half. The team's 8 three pointers would also go down as second most on the season, Wells and Rexford would combine for 7 of the team's 8 threes. What a night for Sonoma State basketball as the Seawolves sweep the Gators on Pack the Den night and both teams currently sit inside the top-6, continuing to fight for a postseason berth down the stretch of the regular season.       

LOOK AHEAD:

Sonoma State gets back in the win column and improves to 9-11 overall and 8-6 in CCAA play. They slide into a tie for third place in the conference standings. The Seawolves will hit the road for one of their toughest tests as of late against Chico State and Stanislaus State. They'll take on the Wildcats on Thursday, February 2nd at 7:30 PM. Live stats, stream, and ticket links can all be found at sonomaseawolves.com on the men's basketball schedule page. As always you can stream the game LIVE on the CCAA Network. 

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