SAN FRANCISCO –Tim Pratt scored a game-high 18 points, while
Phoenix O'Rourke and
Nefi Perdomo tossed in 16 apiece to the lead the San Francisco State men's basketball team to a comfortable 79-54 victory over Cal State East Bay in the Gators' 2010-11 home opener Friday at the Main Gymnasium.
With the result, SF State improves to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, winning its last three games by an average of 29 points. Meanwhile, the Pioneers drop to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
“I thought we executed very well tonight,” said SF State head coach
Paul Trevor. "Our half-court defense was strong and we were able to keep East Bay off the boards.”
Pratt's big night was highlighted by a 7-for-8 performance from the field, while O'Rourke's point production was a season-best, featuring a 4-for-6 effort on his shot attempts—all from beyond the 3-point arc. Not to be outdone, the Gators also received a career-high seven rebounds from
Ralph Nevarez, while
Marquel Hoskins dished out a season-best eight assists.
Conversely, East Bay was led by Mark Samuels, who scored 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists, while George Toyama added nine points and three rebounds in the loss.
As a team, SF State shot 49.2 percent for the game on 30-of-61 field-goal tries, compared to the Pioneers 33.3 percent clip on 18-for-54 shooting. In addition to their sizeable 45-32 advantage in rebounding and a 7-2 edge in blocks, the Gators also displayed some crisp passing as evidenced by 24 assists, while East Bay managed just seven helpers the entire night.
The Pioneers led 12-9 with 7:01 elapsed in the first half when O'Rourke reeled off five straight points on a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to put the Purple and Gold ahead to stay at 14-12. SF State eventually stretched the margin to 23-15 on a Pratt layup with 8:09 left in the half. However, East Bay rallied with seven straight points on a triple by Cameron Lew and back-to-back layups by Samuels, which narrowed the gap to 23-22 with 6:51 remaining.
The Gators met the challenge with urgency, crafting a 13-1 run to close out the half, appropriately punctuated by another O'Rourke trey.
After the break, the Pioneers managed to trim the deficit to 10 on two occasions, including a 41-31 spread at the 17:04 mark, following a jumper by Will Freedman. However the visitors would draw no closer the rest of the way as the Gators erupted with an 18-2 flurry over the next four minutes, capped by a
Matt Fochtman layup, to stake an insurmountable 59-33 advantage.
SF State seized control of the middle in the second half, out-scoring East Bay 28-8 in the paint to help give coach Trevor a win in his first home game along the purple sidelines.
“I was a little nervous at first, but it was nice to watch as our guys came out and played hard,” Trevor added. “Hopefully, we can build on this positive in our upcoming games.”
The Gators return to the hardwood on Saturday when they tackle UC San Diego in another CCAA game at home in the Main Gym. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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