BELMONT, Calif.--- SF State's men's basketball team finished 2-0 at the Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Classic as the Gators defeated the host, Notre Dame de Namur 76-59 in the final game of the tournament this evening in Belmont. With the win, the Gators improve to 3-1 on the season. SF State sophomore guard
Nefi Perdomo (Oakland, California, Skyline ) had 21 points to lead the way for the Gators while senior guard
Phoenix O'Rourke (San Mateo, California, Junipero Serra) chipped in 12 points.
“I am very pleased with our total team effort this evening,” said SF State head coach
Paul Trevor. “Our five starters set the tone at the beginning for the whole game,” added Trevor. “Nefi (Perdomo) played very well this weekend and is maturing into a very good basketball player.”
The Gators (3-1) took a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game, but Notre Dame de Namur (0-4) cut its visitors lead to 16-13 on a jumper by Erik Hartvigson at the 9:40 mark of the first half.
Tim Pratt (Eureka, California, College of the Redwoods) jumper increased the Gators' lead back to double digits at 24-14 with 7:29 left in the half.
SF State increased its lead to 36-20 on a three by O'Rourke with a little less than three minutes to go in the first stanza. The Gators took a 39-26 lead into the locker room as they held the Argonauts to 41% shooting from the field including holding them to no three-point field goals as they went 0 for 6 from three-point land.
In thanks to the tournament's Most Valuable Player,
Nefi Perdomo, the Gators increased their lead in the first four minutes of the second half to 55-31. Perdomo scored 10 of the Gators' first 16 points of the second half. SF State increased its lead to 27 (65-38) at the 11:05 mark of the second stanza on a lay-up by Pratt off one of O'Rourke's career high six assists. The Gators held for the 76-59 non-conference victory.
Perdomo finished with 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field including 3 of 5 from three-point land. He had a career high with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. O'Rourke, who also was named to the all-tournament team, had 12 points on 4 of 9 shooting from three-point land. To go with his 6 assists, the Gators' co-captain had three steals and one blocked shot.
Jeff Ford led the way for the Argonauts with a game high 25 points. Ford joined Perdomo and O'Rourke on the all-tournament team with UC San Diego's Casey Ryan and James McCann. The Tritons also finished 2-0 at the tournament while Simon Fraser went 0-2.
In their two games of the tournament, SF State held its opponents to just 34% shooting from the field including 15% from three-point land and forced 26 turnovers per game while recording 12.5 steals per game. The Gators shot 50% from the field including 40% from three's and averaged 19 assists per game.
The Gators will return to the court this Friday, December 3 at 7:30pm, when they host Cal State East Bay in a conference game. “I am excited to have our home opener this Friday as are our guys and to play in front of our fans,” noted Trevor.
Box Score
