LA JOLLA, Calif. – Despite having four players reach double figures in scoring, the San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 78-71 decision to UC San Diego on Friday at the RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif. The Gators wrapped the road portion of their 2008-09 regular-season schedule on a sour note, falling to 14-11 overall and 8-10 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Meanwhile, the Tritons raise their record to 14-9 on the year and 11-6 in conference action.
"We made some big plays and stepped up to the challenge," said SF State Head Coach Bill Treseler. "The games are getting bigger, the intensity is rising and I like our mentality right now," added Treseler. "Brad (Visman) and Martin (Flores) were assertive inside and Alex Thomas played at a very high level."
SF State was led by Alex Thomas (Vallejo, California, Hogan, Dominican University), who posted a team-high 20 points, bolstered by a 5-for-9 spree from beyond the 3-point arc. With his effort, Thomas now has 1,006 points for his Gator career and needs just 12 points to move into 10th place on the school's all-time list. Also contributing to the SF State cause was Brad Visman (Placerville, California, El Dorado, UC Riverside), who finished with 15 points and a team-best 10 rebounds, while Martin Flores (Woodland, California, Woodland, Solano Junior College) (12 pts.) and Robert Hayes (San Diego, California, St. Augustine) (10 pts.) each cracked the double-digit plateau as well.
For the second straight game, the Gators got a strong performance from their bench, outscoring the UCSD reserves by a 24-12 margin; however, SF State could not maintain its hot start from the field. The Gators shot 50 percent from the field in the first half on 12 of 24 field-goal tries, but only converted 14 of 37 attempts (37.8 percent) after the break. The Tritons, meanwhile, had nearly twice as many free-throw opportunities, connecting on 26 of 34 chances compared to SF State's 12-for-19 clip.
The two sides slugged it out in the first half, with the Gators enjoying their biggest advantage of the contest at 18-12 following Derek Fletcher's (San Jose, California, Branham) jumper at the 12:45 mark. However, UCSD kept things close over the next seven minutes, eventually taking the lead at 29-28 on a layup by Kelvin Kim with 5:31 remaining. The Tritons stretched the margin to 33-29 on another Kim bucket before SF State responded with consecutive baskets, including a jumper by Phoenix O'Rourke (San Mateo, California, Junipero Serra) with two ticks on the clock, which knotted the score at 33-33 heading into the locker room.
The second half was hotly contested as well, featuring eight ties and six lead changes. Hayes' layup at the 8:56 mark gave the Gators a 56-53 edge, but Shane Poppen's free throw and a 3-pointer by Kim with 7:39 left put the home team ahead to stay at 57-56. Moments later, UCSD widened the gap to 66-60 following a pair of foul shots by Jordan Lawley at the 4:28 mark.
SF State quickly responded with a Visman jumper and a Hayes triple to pull the visitors within 66-65. However, the Gators were unable to gain the upper hand for the remainder of the game. After another Visman basket with 47 seconds to go brought SF State to within 74-71, the Tritons hit four straight free throws to provide for the final outcome.
UCSD was paced by Lawley's game-high 22 points, while Alan Husted (18 pts.), Kim (13 pts.) and Poppen (13 pts.) also scored in double figures. The Tritons outrebounded the Gators by a 42-29 margin, with A.J. Maulhardt posting a game-best 12 caroms.
SF State returns home for a pair of home games next week to close out the regular season. The Gators will take on Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, Feb. 26, before battling CSU San Bernardino on Friday, Feb. 27. Both game are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Gym.
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