SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco State men's basketball team kicked off the new year in style Saturday night, posting a 65-52 triumph over Sonoma State in a California Collegiate Athletic Association showdown at the Main Gymnasium.

 

Junior transfer Marquel Hoskins (Beloit, Wis., Beloit Memorial HS, Reedley College) led the way with a game-high 19 points while adding season bests of nine rebounds and five steals as the Gators won their fifth straight game to improve to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Meanwhile with the loss, the Seawolves dip to 3-7 on the year and 2-3 in the CCAA.

 

“Somona State plays outstanding defense and that prevented us from getting into a rhythm all night,” said SF State head coach Bill Treseler. “Fortunately our defense kept us going and Marquel made some big plays late. We are getting good contributions from a number of guys and we'll need to bring a similar effort tomorrow night.”

 

The Gators also received nine points from junior Phoenix O'Rourke (San Mateo, Calif., Junipero Serra HS), who  tied his career best with a season-high four assists, while senior Derek Fletcher (San Jose, Calif., Branham HS) and junior transfer Tim Pratt (Eureka, Calif., Eureka HS , College of the Redwoods) chipped in eight points and seven rebounds, respectively.

 

As a team, SF State maintained a 41-34 edge in rebounds and committed a season-low six turnovers while forcing 19 Seawolf miscues. The Gators took advantage of those opportunities, outscoring SSU 21-6 in points off turnovers and 17-8 in second chance points.

 

The Seawolves were paced by Steven Pratt, who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

 

The first half was a low-scoring, seesaw affair, as the first 11 minutes featured four ties and three lead changes. Trailing 12-11, a 3-point basket by senior Jeremy Francis (San Francisco, Calif., George Washington HS, Mayville State Univ.) put the Gators in front to stay, igniting an 11-0 blitz which gave the home team a 22-12 bulge by the 6:40 mark. SSU gradually whittled away at the deficit, closing to within 24-19 after a Kyle Shandera free throw with 3:03 left on the clock. However, SF State kept the visitors off the scoreboard for the remainder of period, with a Hoskins foul shot accounting for the contest's 25-19 halftime score.

 

After the Seawolves scored the first points of the second half on a Chris Chambers layup, the Gators fashioned another sizeable run as a pair of Tim Pratt baskets provided the bookends to a 15-3 flurry, putting the Purple and Gold in control at 40-24 by the 15:32 mark.

 

SSU was in pursuit mode for the remainder of the contest, but managed to make a game of it after a Steven Pratt jumper capped an 8-0 spurt, trimming the SF State lead to 56-50 with 2:11 left to play. However, the Gators withstood the rally, as a Hoskins 3-pointer from the top of the key ended a 3:56 field-goal drought, putting the host school up 59-50 at the 1:43 mark.