LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - On Thursday, February 15th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team took down one of the top teams in the conference in Cal State LA to win their fourth straight and remain in the postseason hunt. The Seawolves defensive tenacity continues to win games down the stretch as they entered tonight's game ranked 12th in the country in opponent points per game.
Head coach
Rich Shayewitz and his squad held the Golden Eagles to nearly twenty points under their season average and held a lead as many as 14 points in the second half. They would hold off a late surge from the Golden Eagles who cut the deficit to just one point with four minutes to go, but a series of defensive stops would allow Sonoma State to hang on for the 63-60 victory and throw them right in the thick of the playoff race.
Cal State LA shot over 40% from the field in the first half but were just 25% from three, proving to be the big difference maker in the first twenty minutes of action. Leading the scoring charge for SSU was senior guard
Cameron Barry who exploded for a season high seven three's, five of which came in the first half. Nearing the ten minute mark
Andrew Henderson and
Cameron Barry connected on back-to-back three's to extend their lead to seven and force a timeout from the Golden Eagles in an effort to cool Barry down.
SSU led by two going into the break but really took control of the game at the twelve minute mark of the second half with buckets from
Damien Miller and
Dillon Iyawe. Miller was great off the dribble for the Seawolves and finished the night with a season high ten points. He would blow past his defender for the layup and then Iyawe would finish an easy layup inside on the very next possession off a dart from
Julian Bryant to push the lead to 13.
The lead would grow to as many as 14 but the Golden Eagles wouldn't go away quietly as they made their run near the six minute mark. A 12-0 run would ignite the crowd and cut the lead to just one with under four minutes to play. Leave it to Barry though to come up with a huge three ball late in the shot clock on the very next possession to end the scoring run and push the lead back to four.
After hitting a jumper to bring the lead back to two, the Seawolves defense would lock down and come up with seven straight stops to close out the game. A pair of turnovers and four missed field goals would allow SSU to hang on for three point victory, 63-60, giving them the season sweep over Cal State LA.
Barry went on to finish with a game high 21 points and went a staggering 7-11 from three point range. His seven three's would go down as 5th most in a single game in program history. Miller finished with a season high 10 and Henderson and Iyawe combined for 16 points. The Seawolves hit a trio of three pointers in the second half but finished over 60% from the field to help close out the game. The Golden Eagles were held to under 40% from the field and under 30% from three.
Tonight's win jumped Sonoma State into sole possession of 6th place in the conference standings with four of the six spots already clinched. They will have complete control of their fate down the stretch and have a chance to secure their second consecutive conference tournament appearance.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State improves their overall record to 13-11 and 9-9 in conference play. They will close out the road trip against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday at 3:00 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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