ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Saturday, December 9th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team bounced back with a conference win over Cal Poly Humboldt, pulling away late for the 18-point victory. Second year forward
Julian Bryant finished with a career high 17 points shooting 86% from the field on the night to lead all scorers.
The Lumberjacks hit five first half three's to pull within four at the break, but the Seawolves kept their foot on the gas and went on a 12-0 run midway through the second half to extend their lead to double digits. SSU hammered the Jacks in the paint, outscoring them by twelve and also more than doubled the points off turnovers allowing them to finish with eleven fastbreak points.
FIRST HALF SSU 32-28 HUM
Despite six made field goals to start the game, Cal Poly Humboldt would answer with four consecutive three's to keep it close and take advantage of the perimeter space from SSU's zone defense.
There would be ten lead changes in the first half but a clutch three from second year forward
Pierce Rexford and a made free throw
Julian Bryant would give the Seawolves a 4-0 scoring run to take the lead at the half.
Julian Bryant and
Cameron Barry led the team in scoring combining for 14 points. Bryant showed his aggressiveness going 3-3 from the field, attacking the rim off the dribble and getting to the free throw line. Barry was 0-2 from beyond the arc but he also showcased his ability to finish inside with some tough lefty layups.
Sonoma State put together a quality first half on both ends of the floor but the Jacks hit five three's to keep them in the game at the break.
FINAL 68-50 HUM
Humboldt would come out of the half and go 5-5 from the field to ignite a 10-4 scoring run. They would grab their first lead of the half at 38-36, but the Seawolves would settle down and respond in impressive fashion with a 10-0 run capped off by a steal and finish from College of Marin transfer
Julian Bryant. During the 10-0 run, Bryant would convert back-to-back buckets with a three late in the shot clock and then jump a pass at the top of the three point line to take it all the way for the layup and force a Humboldt timeout.
The Jacks would bounce back and forth between single and double digit deficits, but SSU would continue to get easy layups and quality contributions from LMU transfer
James Nobles who finished with 10 points off the bench. With some late free throws the Seawolves extended their lead to as many as 19 and would force eight second half turnovers from the Jacks.
Sonoma State struggled from beyond the arc but put together one of their more complete performances this season, holding Cal Poly Humboldt to a season low 50 points. They would also out-rebound the Jacks in dominant fashion, 39-25 and 14-6 on the offensive glass.
Julian Bryant finished with a career high 17 points on an efficient 6-7 shooting.
Cameron Barry and
James Nobles would be the other two Seawolves in double figures combining for 22 points. SSU also finished with one of their better halves from the free throw line, going 10-11 to help put the game to bed.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State improves to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Seawolves will break for finals next week and then hit the road to take on Fresno Pacific in a non-conference matchup on Saturday, December 16th. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM and tickets can be bought online at sonomaseawolves.com.
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