TURLOCK, CALIF. – On Saturday, January 6th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team secured it's second straight conference win to conclude the road trip, making a defensive stop on the final possession to defeat the Warriors 61-59.
The Seawolves didn't score the ball like they did Thursday night against the Otters, but they did have balanced scoring once again with seven players recording five or more points on the night.
Julian Bryant and
Cameron Barry combined for 21 points while
Nick Medeiros led the bench scoring again with 8 points and a pair of three balls.
SSU led by as many as six in the first half but Stanislaus would continue to answer and go a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line to take a one-point lead at the break. The Warriors only made nine field goals in the half with five of them coming from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, despite 29 first half points, the Seawolves were an efficient 11-22 from the field and connected on six threes' to lead for the majority of the half.
In the second half, neither team would lead by more than four points as they traded shots the rest of the way. The Seawolves would breakthrough that barrier though late in the half with an 8-2 run to take a five-point lead. Six made free throws and a pair of buckets from
Dillon Iyawe would highlight the run but the Warriors would connect on a big three ball to cut the lead to two with two to play.
The final two minutes would be highlighted by a series of turnovers from both sides, but Sonoma State would force two missed field goals and get a chance to put the game away with 34 seconds left on the clock. Senior transfer
Cameron Barry would take the ball and drive hard to his right and finish with a sweeping layup around a screen from Iyawe to give SSU a four-point lead.
On the ensuing possession though, Stanislaus State would get up the floor quick and connect on a pull-up three to cut the lead to one with 10 seconds left. Second year forward
Julian Bryant would get intentionally fouled and split his free throws to make it a two-point game.
On the inbound, the Warriors would push the floor and drop it off for a catch and shoot three, but
Andrew Henderson would defend the shot well and force the miss as time expired to give the Seawolves their second straight conference victory.
SSU outscored Stanislaus 20-8 in the paint and forced another 13 turnovers on the night. Despite a lower scoring game, the Seawolves were efficient again scoring the basketball finishing over 40% from the field and beyond the arc, connecting on nine three balls.
Pierce Rexford and
Matt Williams III combined for a trio of three's on the night and
Dillon Iyawe finished with eight points and five rebounds.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State improves to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The Seawolves will return home for rest but hit the road again next week to take on Cal Poly Pomona and nationally ranked Cal State San Bernardino. Tickets can be bought online at sonomaseawolves.com and you can stream the games LIVE 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
