ROHNERT PARK, CALIF. - On Saturday, February 10th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team picked up their third straight win and held the Otters to under 60 points on Senior Night as they continue to stay in the mix for the conference tournament. A common theme during the team's three game win streak, they have held all three teams to under 60 points and currently rank 13th in all of Division II in opponents points per game (65.9). When the Seawolves play solid defense and spread the scoring around, they are difficult to beat as they had five players finish with 8 points or more and shot 48% from the field.
Sonoma State led by as many as 11 in the first half finishing over 50% from the field and held Monterey Bay to just 32%.
Andrew Henderson led all scorers with 9 points in the half and had a stellar stretch near the 12-minute mark where he came up with a chase down block and then converted the reverse layup on the other end of the floor to extend their lead to 10.
Julian Bryant was also ultra aggressive in the first half finishing 3-5 from the field and recording a +11 in his 17 minutes of action.
The Seawolves opened up the second half with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 15. The Otters bounced back and forth between single and double digit deficits but had a key stretch under seven minutes scoring back-to-back buckets and taking advantage of an SSU turnover. Both teams would trade free throws as the lead got back to six but
Dillon Iyawe would come back with a huge left handed hook shot to extend the lead to eight and help ice the game with three minutes to play. Iyawe picked up his fourth foul earlier in the half but head coach
Rich Shayewitz gave him some leeway late, allowing him to make a huge play for the Seawolves.
Free throws from
Nick Medeiros,
Andrew Henderson and
Dillon Iyawe would put the game to bed and secure the six point victory on senior night. Henderson finished with 12 points and Bryant and Iyawe combined for 22 as the Seawolves held on for their third straight win. The Seawolves were just 2-8 from three but converted 22 field goals and 40 paint points.
SSU currently sits in a three way tie for the 6th spot in the CCAA standings along with San Francisco State and Cal State San Marcos. They will have a big road test next week with games against Cal State LA and Dominguez Hills in an effort to solidify their spot in the top six.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State evens their overall record at 12-11 and improves to 8-9 in conference play. They will hit the road next week and take on Cal State LA on Thursday, February 15th at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be bought online at sonomaseawolves.com/tickets and you can stream the game 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
