SAN FRANCISCO – Riding the hot shooting of Nefi Perdomo, Phoenix O'Rourke and Max Fodor, the San Francisco State men's basketball team came away with a hard-fought 68-66 decision over Cal Poly Pomona in a California Collegiate Athletic Association battle Saturday inside the Main Gymnasium.

 

With the victory, the Gators (12-6, 10-4 CCAA) won their fourth straight and completed the regular-season sweep of the Broncos (10-7, 7-6 CCAA), who nearly overcame an 11-point deficit late in the second half.

 

“Our guys played extremely hard and we got major contributions from everyone,” said SF State head coach Paul Trevor. “We've been fortunate to have different players step up for us when needed throughout the season, and tonight it was Max's turn.”

 

The troika of Perdomo (22 pts.), O'Rourke (15 pts.) and Fodor (10 pts.) tallied 47 of the Gators' 68 points on a combined 18-for-26 shooting performance (69.2 percent). Perdomo knocked down 8 of 12 field-goal attempts and also tied for game-high honors with six rebounds, while O'Rourke matched a personal best with five 3-pointers. Not to be outdone, Fodor went 5-for-5 from the field for his season-high point total, while Marquel Hoskins handed out seven assists.

 

Dwayne Fells and Mitchel Anderson led CPP with 18 points apiece, while Tobias Jahn added 15 points and six boards.

 

The closeness of the ballgame was reflected throughout the stat sheet as both teams finished with 22 field goals made, while the Broncos held a slight rebounding advantage, 29-28.  However, SF State had its perimeter game working on Saturday, connecting on 7 of its 15 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc, while CPP was just 3-for-11 from downtown.

 

Trailing 15-9 at the 14:42 mark of the first half, the Gators unleashed a 17-4 flurry over a span of 7:46 as two O'Rourke treys sandwiched around a Winston Demmin jumper gave the host school a 26-19 lead with 6:56 on the clock.

 

The Broncos gradually crept their way back into contention after a Terrence Drisdom jumper and a Matt Rosser free throw brought the visitors to within one at 32-31 with 2:38 left before intermission. However, SF State quickly reclaimed the momentum by scoring the final six points of the half on two Perdomo buckets and a pair of Jamari Simmons free throws to take a 38-31 advantage into the locker room.

 

The Gators maintained their cushion during the opening minutes of the second half, until CPP rattled off seven straight points on a Jahn layup, a Fells jumper and a triple by Anderson to knot the score at 46-46 with 13:32 remaining. However, SF State withstood the challenge, nailing three consecutive baskets of its own by the 9:36 mark to forge a 52-46 lead it would not surrender.

 

Shortly thereafter, the Gators stretched the margin to 11 as O'Rourke drained a pair of clutch 3-pointers from the right baseline to provide additional separation at 58-47 with 6:32 left to play.

 

The Broncos inched closer, but SF State appeared to have locked things up after Hoskins sank two foul shots with 10 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 67-63 advantage. However, Anderson converted an old-fashioned three-point play on the ensuing possession with four ticks on the clock to narrow the gap to 67-66. Hoskins was then fouled on the subsequent in-bounds pass and hit just the first of two free throws. CPP grabbed the rebound, but bobbled the ball up the court and a desperation heave fell off the mark.

 

“It's fun to play and win against tough teams like this,” Trevor concluded. “It gives us a good indication of where we stand in the conference.”

 

SF State, which sits in third place two games behind conference co-leaders Cal State Dominguez Hills and Humboldt State, looks to continue its winning ways next week when it tackles UC San Diego (Feb. 3) and Cal State East Bay (Feb. 5) in a pair of CCAA road clashes. Tip-off for both contests is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.