ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Thursday, February 1st, the Sonoma State men's basketball team fell in their third straight one possession game to one of the league's best in Cal State San Bernardino. The Seawolves put together another solid team performance and went toe-to-toe with the 2023 Final Four Coyotes but a dagger three at the buzzer would send San Bernardino home with the win and hand SSU their fourth straight loss.
Sophomore point guard
Nick Medeiros hit a miraculous three with five seconds remaining to tie the game and almost certainly send it to overtime, but San Bernardino would come up the floor and hit a deep contested three as time expired to rush the floor and crush the hearts of the Seawolves fans. SSU will have eight remaining conference games to make a run at a postseason spot but have to pick up the pieces Saturday night against Cal Poly Pomona.
FIRST HALF SSU 33-28 CSUSB
The Seawolves got off to a great start on both ends of the floor, building an early ten point lead over the Coyotes in the first ten minutes of the game. Shayewitz's defense held San Bernardino to just 25% shooting during that stretch as the Yotes were just 1-6 from beyond the arc and had six made field goals.
Senior transfer
Cameron Barry splashed home a pair of early three's to lead the way and four other players would have four points or more in the early going. Sonoma State would regain another double digit lead with just two minutes remaining off of a fastbreak layup from forward
Julian Bryant, but the Coyotes would go on a crucial 5-0 scoring run aided by three SSU turnovers to cut the lead in half.
Bryant, Barry, Nobles and Haywood would each enter the half with six points, with Nobles and Haywood combining for 12 points off the bench. The Seawolves outscored the Coyotes 19-0 in bench points and held one of the top teams in the conference to just 23% shooting at the break.
FINAL SSU 68-71 CSUSB
The Seawolves would come out with great energy that sparked a 9-2 scoring run and gave them a 12-point lead just three minutes into the second half, their largest of the game.
Dillon Iyawe flashed his range with an elbow jumper and then showcased his strength with a tough hookshot inside to highlight the scoring run for SSU.
Turnovers started to plague Sonoma State though late in the half as San Bernardino continued to chip away and cut the lead to single digits with under ten to play. Another big stat figure that got the Coyotes back in the game were offensive boards as they pulled down 17 compared to just four to give them quality second chance looks.
San Bernardino grabbed their first lead of the half on a huge offensive rebound that led to a deep wing three pointer nearing the five minute mark. At that point, both teams would trade blows down the final stretch as the Seawolves continued to answer and tie the game bucket after bucket. Layups from
Dillon Iyawe and
Andrew Henderson would each knot the game at 61 and then 63 with under two minutes to play.
Things looked bleak for SSU after a costly turnover that led to another momentous three ball for the Yotes, giving them a five point lead with just over a minute remaining.
Julian Bryant would roll to the hoop and finish nicely with his off hand on the very next possession to cut the lead to three. After an SSU timeout, the Seawolves would force a travel call on San Bernardino and get the ball back with 20 seconds on the clock down three. After their final timeout to draw up a play,
Nick Medeiros would have to force a three right in front of the team's bench as the play broke down and hit it to send the crowd into a frenzy and tie the game with six seconds remaining.
The Coyotes were also out of timeouts and had to push the ball to get a look before the final buzzer. Their guard would pull up from deep inside SSU's half and despite two hands in his face and a quality contest from Medeiros, the San Bernardino player would sink the shot as time expired and storm the court as they shocked the Seawolves crowd with a 71-68 victory at the buzzer.
Heartbreak continues for Sonoma State as they've put together quality team performances over the last several weeks but recorded their third straight one possession defeat in conference action.
Julian Bryant and
Dillon Iyawe combined for 27 points and the Seawolves bench finished with 21 more points on the night. However, San Bernardino would best SSU 16-9 in points off turnovers and 17-7 in second chance points, allowing them to steal the game late.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State falls to 9-11 overall and 5-9 in conference play. They'll have to dig deep and continue to put together quality performances to make a push for a postseason spot in the final weeks of the regular season. The Seawolves will take on Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, February 3rd at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be bought online at sonomaseawolves.com/tickets and you can stream the game LIVE on the CCAA Network.
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