ROHNERT PARK, CALIF.- Coach Rich Shayewitz and the boys have notched their first win of the season in a physical, tightly contested battle against the Pac-West reigning champions from Academy of Art. Despite 48 total foul calls, the Seawolves outlasted the Urban Knights behind team wide contributions and clutch playmaking down the stretch!
The first half of the game was a strong offensive showing for Sonoma State. The first 20 minutes of play were highlighted by 25 points off turnovers, 22 points from the second unit and five made threes at a 50% clip from behind the arc. Jakob Milling had a strong outing doing most of his damage in the first frame of play. He scored 13 points and swiped three steals while knocking down six of seven shots from the field. The duo of Donovan Sevilla and Nick Medeiros also did an outstanding job of running the Seawolves offense and setting up their teammates. Both players dished out four assists, a piece that highlighted the teams sharp ball movement. Sevilla in particular was incredibly effective in his 18 minutes of play. He knocked down both of his three point attempts and also earned two steals.
Unfortunately, foul trouble began to rear its head into the second half but thankfully a pair of reserves were ready to answer the call. Jack Shultz started his Seawolves career off with a bang earlier in the week. He scored 19 points in just 18 minutes in the teams match up against Dominican. He followed up that performance with 10 more points and drilled two big three pointers while going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Chris Holley also had a nice day off the bench with 10 points of his own along with two assists. Holley may be the quickest player on the team with the ball in his hands. His ability to break down defenders off the dribble and get to the rim put constant pressure on the Urban Knights defense.
The Seawolves leading scorer on the night was James Nobles. The dynamic wing has now eclipsed 15 points in two straight games. Despite only converting three field goals, Nobles was elite at drawing fouls and punished Academy of Art at the free throw line. He earned 10 trips to the charity stripe and was excellent making nine of said free throws. He was also the teams leading rebounder with five boards as well.
In the end the team earned a hard fought victory by making winning plays down the stretch. With the game teetering as Sonoma held a three point lead with under 2:30 seconds remaining the Seawolves drew three straight offensive fouls to secure critical possessions. Medeiros and Nobles would go on to score five points from that point on to secure the win.
After a weekend of solid competition the team will look to get back in the gym and prepare for next weekend's Ron Logsdon Basketball Challenge. The Seawolves will look to keep things rolling at home against Hawaii Pacific University on November 15th at 7:00 PM!
