SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - On Thursday, February 22nd, the Sonoma State men's basketball team took on San Francisco State in a huge CCAA matchup with both teams in a tie for 6th place in the conference standings. The Gators got out to an 8-0 run and wouldn't look back as they held the lead for the entire night. The Seawolves would chip away though and cut the deficit to single digits multiple times but were never able to break through offensively. Empty possessions late in the second half resulted in having to play the foul game where SF pulled away late for the 65-47 victory.
The Gators now hold the tiebreaker over SSU with the season sweep and sit a game ahead in the conference standings. Head coach
Rich Shayewitz and his group still have a shot though as they will need to win out with games against Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos and have San Francisco State drop their final two games to swap positions in the standings.
FIRST HALF
San Francisco State would hold a lead as many as 16 in the first half but three consecutive three pointers from sharp shooter
Cameron Barry would cut the lead to seven, all in the final two minutes. The Seawolves zone defense made the Gators work all night long but they would convert several late buckets in the shot clock including a jumper to end the 9-0 run in the final seconds, pushing the lead back to nine at the break.
SSU had just nine made field goals in the half and struggled from three while SF shot 50% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc.
SECOND HALF
After getting a stop on the first possession, the Seawolves would take advantage of an offensive rebound with a made floater in the lane from point guard
Damien Miller. Made free throws the following possession from
Julian Bryant would cut the lead to just five with the majority of the second half still to play.
The Gators were held to just nine made field goals of their own in the second half on 39% shooting but the Seawolves just couldn't buy a bucket. They went on to out rebound SF State 39-31 and 18-7 on the offensive glass but failed to convert many of those second chance opportunities. The Gators got timely buckets to maintain their lead as the game never got back within six points after the five minute mark. They would go 11-12 from the free throw line in the second half to ice the game compared to just four free throws from SSU.
Sonoma State was held to a season low 47 points on the night with Berry as the lone scorer in double figures with 12.
Dillon Iyawe finished with 8 points and had a big night on the glass with 10 rebounds, 7 of which came on the offensive glass.
Andrew Henderson chipped in with 6 points and a game high 11 boards. The Seawolves will have their work cutout for them needing wins over Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos to keep their postseason hopes alive.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sonoma State drops their second straight and falls to 13-13 overall and 9-11 in conference play. They will take on the Pioneers on Saturday, February 24th 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
