CARSON, CALIF. – On Saturday, February 17th, the Sonoma State men's basketball team nearly extend their win streak to five games as they led for most of the second half against 19th ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills. However, a game tying three just before the buzzer forced overtime and the Toros went on a 9-0 scoring run to eventually survive and win the game 73-64.
FIRST HALF
Despite the bitter defeat and a real chance to knockoff the 19th ranked Toros, the Seawolves finish one of toughest road trips of the season with a split and still control their postseason fate with three more games against San Francisco State, Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos. Head coach
Rich Shayewitz and his group continue to play some of their best basketball of the season, featuring balanced scoring and tremendous defensive efficiency as they lead the conference in opponents points per game and rank inside the top-12 in all of Division II.
The Seawolves got out to an early 9-4 lead with scoring inside and out. Minutes later though the Toros would connect on back-to-back three's to highlight their 11-0 scoring run and take a ten point lead. The lead would grow to as many as 11 in the first half for Dominguez Hills but Sonoma State's defense continued to grind and ultimately held the Toros to under 30 points and just 33% shooting. A three from
Andrew Henderson and a pair of free throws from
James Nobles would pull the Seawolves to within striking distance, down just six at the break.
SECOND HALF
After trading buckets to start the second half, Sonoma State would find their groove offensively and go on a 10-0 scoring run of their own to erase the deficit and take a five point lead. Three balls from Henderson and
Cameron Barry would silence the crowd and a tough finish down low from
Dillon Iyawe would establish his paint presence and give SSU a 34-29 lead.
Junior transfer
Matt Williams III also added a much needed bench spark for SSU midway through the half. Williams went 3-4 finishing with 6 points and a pair of rebounds during a crucial four minute stretch to help maintain the Seawolves lead heading under ten minutes.
Fast forward under the two minute mark, Sonoma State never gave up the lead and a huge corner jumper from
Julian Bryant late in the shot clock would extend their lead to five with a minute and a half left in regulation.
The Toros would come back rather quickly with necessary back-to-back buckets to cut the lead to one. However, a costly foul on a trap would send
James Nobles to the line where he knocked down two big free throws to give the Seawolves a three point lead with 36 seconds remaining. After the made free throws, the Toros would seem to rush into their offense and throw the ball away in the backcourt on the ensuing possession, giving it back to SSU and now having to play the foul game with 22 seconds remaining.
The Seawolves would go to the line but miss two big free throws to leave the door open. Dominguez Hills would come back up the floor and launch a deep wing three ball but a dive into the Toros bench from one of their own would secure the offensive rebound and give them a second chance with a timeout. One of the league's best players would take the inbound and pull up for the one-on-one three and drill it with three seconds remaining. A half court heave from Nobles would rattle of the backboard as time expired, sending the game to overtime.
OVERTIME
It was only a matter of time before the top ranked team in the conference got going and that's exactly what happened in the first two minutes of overtime. The Toros connected on a pair of three balls and then under a minute and a half remaining a killer two handed slam plus the foul would ignite the crowd and put the game to bed. Dominguez Hills would seal the nine point victory despite the game being much closer than that for the majority of the afternoon. The Seawolves were outscored 17-8 in the extra five minutes.
Andrew Henderson would put up a herculean effort for the Seawolves, posting 20 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Barry added 13 points shooting 5-8 from the field. Sonoma State shot over 56% from the field in the second half but were just 2-7 from the field and 0-3 from three in overtime. They currently sit in a three way tie for 6th place in the CCAA standings with three games to play.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State falls to 13-12 overall and 9-10 in conference play after their overtime defeat to the 19th ranked Toros. The Seawolves will stay local but hit the road to battle San Francisco State and Cal State East Bay next week. They will take on the Gators on Thursday, February 22nd at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be bought online at sonomaseawolves.com 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
