SAN FRANCISCO – Despite
Robert Hayes' (San Diego, California, St. Augustine's)game-high 22 points, the San Francisco State men's basketball team suffered a 72-56 setback at the hands of visiting Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday in front of a spirited crowd at the Main Gymnasium. The Gators were unable to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit, falling to 14-12 overall and 8-11 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Meanwhile, the Broncos raise their record to 18-6 on the year and 14-5 in conference action.
“We didn't make enough shots,” said SF State head coach Bill Treseler. “Our misses were contested, but we usually convert many of those. In general, we competed and fought hard; however, Pomona is really on a roll right now. “We're all very determined to send our seniors out on high note tomorrow.”
CPP connected on 22 of 45 field-goal attempts (48.9 percent) and owned a 44-23 advantage in rebounding, while the Gators hit just 20 of their 58 shots (34.5 percent). SF State was unable to get to the free-throw line either, converting eight of its 13 foul shots, while the Broncos went 25 for 30 from the charity stripe.
In addition to his point production, Hayes also posted a team-high six rebounds, while
Alex Thomas (Vallejo, California, Hogan, Dominican University) finished with 17 points, including three triples, and tied
Phoenix O'Rourke (San Mateo, California, Junipero Serra) with a game-high four assists.
Trailing 11-5, SF State scored seven straight points, capped by a Thomas jumper, to take its only lead of the game at 12-11 with 11:16 to go in the first half. However, CPP quickly answered with a 6-0 spurt of its own to regain the upper hand for good. After
Darryl Robinson (San Mateo, California, San Mateo, Canada College) drained a 3-pointer to bring the Gators back to within 17-15, the Broncos closed the period with a 14-7 run to take a 31-22 lead into the locker room.
The Broncos kept the pressure on after the break, stretching their advantage to 42-28 on a Walter Thompson jumper at the 14:04 mark. Shortly thereafter, SF State managed to pull within seven points as
Ryan Wessels' (Napa, California, Vintage, Napa Valley College) dunk punctuated a 7-0 flurry, which narrowed the gap to 42-35 with 11:45 to go on the game. However, CPP promptly put the brakes on the Gators' momentum with consecutive jumpers by Robert Summers and Walter Thompson, which restored the visitors' double-digit margin to 46-35.
An O'Rourke 3-pointer with 9:18 left seemingly gave the home team new life, but as typical of the entire game, the SF State threat was quickly subdued. Two Austin Swift foul shots and an old fashioned 3-point play by Larry Gordon put CPP up by a 51-38 count, and the Gators could draw no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Tobias Jahn paced the Broncos with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Larry Gordon notched a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
