SAN FRANCISCO –The San Francisco State men's basketball team was unable to curtail an 11-0 second-half run by visiting No. 10 Cal State Dominguez Hills, dropping a 73-55 decision to the Toros in a key California Collegiate Athletic Association battle Friday night in the Main Gymnasium.
The Gators (7-4, 5-2 CCAA) were also plagued by cold shooting in the decisive period, connecting on just 10 of 33 field-goal attempts (30.3 percent) after intermission, while CSUDH (10-1, 6-1 CCAA) got hot from 3-point land, draining seven of 10 long-range shots in the second half, finishing 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) beyond the arc on the night.
“Give credit to Dominguez Hills,” said SF State head coach
Paul Trevor. “They took us out of what we wanted to do offensively in the second half. “We played hard and defended well for 30 out of the 40 minutes, but we need to get better and play a complete game.”
With the victory, the Toros maintained a share of first place in the CCAA standings with Humboldt State, while the Gators are now tied for third place in the conference race with Saturday's opponent Cal State L.A.
SF State had three players finish in double digits as
Nefi Perdomo,
Tim Pratt and
Marquel Hoskins each finished with 11 points. Hoskins also grabbed nine rebounds and came up with a game-best three steals, while Perdomo dished out a team-high four assists. The Gators also received a nine points from
Matt Fochtman, who went 3-for-3 from the field and also pulled down four boards.
Marcquintice Davis led all scorers with 19 points on the night for CSUDH, while Robert Willhite added a game-high 13 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end, to go along with nine points.
As a team, the Toros maintained a 47-30 rebounding advantage, including a 34-20 spread on the defensive glass, while outscoring the Purple and Gold off turnovers, 25-15.
CSUDH threatened to make things an early blowout, building an 18-6 advantage in the first half on a Davis layup with 9:11 remaining. However, SF State came roaring back with an 18-3 flurry, highlighted by two triples apiece by
Phoenix O'Rourke and Perdomo, which gave the host school its first lead since the opening minute at 24-21 with 4:21 left before halftime.
The Gators upped the margin to four at 30-26 by the 2:37 on a Fochtman foul shot, but the Toros closed with a 7-2 rush, taking a 33-32 lead into the locker room after a James Cawthorne tip-in and a Willhite layup in the final 1:21 of the period.
The two sides remained close following the break as a Pratt layup knotted the score at 38-38 with 17:05 to go in the contest.
CSUDH reeled off the next eight points, including a Willhite free throw at the 13:42 mark, before SF State rallied once again. A Fochtman layup and an old-fashioned three-point play by Perdomo trimmed the deficit to 46-45 with 11:41 left in regulation, but the Gators could never gain the upper hand as a 3-pointer by Davis on the next trip up the court ignited the Toros' pivotal run, sending the Purple and Gold into a proverbial downward spiral.
A Hoskins jumper and a Fochtman tip-in temporarily stemmed the plunge, pulling SF State to within 57-49 with 8:06 to play. However, two additional triples by Davis and another by Tim McLaurin highlighted another 11-2 flurry that effectively put the game out of reach at 68-51 with 3:29 left on the clock.
The Gators wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 8, when they entertain Cal State L.A. in another CCAA showdown beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 69-62, on Friday in Seaside, Calif.
Box Score
