SAN FRANCISCO – After nearly watching an early 17-point lead evaporate, the Humboldt State men's basketball team employed a much-needed 10-1 run midway through the second half Friday to key a 78-65 victory over host San Francisco State in a matchup of two regional contenders at the Main Gymnasium.
The Lumberjacks, ranked third in the latest NCAA Division II West Regional poll and 10th nationally, received a game-high 37 points from Brian Morris on 15-of-20 shooting to raise their record to 21-2 overall and 17-2 in the California College Athletic Association. The No. 9 regionally ranked Gators, meanwhile, slip to 14-9 on the season and 12-7 in league play, despite 21 points from Marquel Hoskins and another 18 courtesy of Nefi Perdomo.
“We didn't play very well tonight,” said SF State head coach Paul Trevor. “We didn't execute and we were never able to get ourselves into a rhythm. “We regrouped a little bit in the second half, but we made too many mistakes in the end.”
Despite owning a 38-29 rebounding advantage and a slight 28-26 edge in the paint, the Gators were plagued by a season-high 22 turnovers, while HSU committed just nine, outscoring the host school by a 20-8 margin off those miscues.
In addition to Morris' output, the Jacks also received double-digit figures from Brandon Sperling, who finished with 14 points, while Kyle Baxter added 13 to go along with seven rebounds.
Conversely, Winston Demmin grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds for SF State, while Phoenix O'Rourke handed out a game-high four assists.
HSU jumped out to a quick 16-7 lead the first half, following a Sperling layup at the 14:42 mark. The margin gradually ballooned to 17 over the next 8:22 as tip-in by Randy Hunter provided the visitors a 32-15 cushion with 6:20 remaining.
However, the Gators flashed their resiliency, crafting a 16-7 run of their own as Hoskins scored the final six points of the half on a jumper and two layups, pulling the host school to within 39-31.
SF State maintained the momentum in the second half, hitting eight of its first 12 field-goal attempts, including a 3-pointer by
Chad Delaney, which narrowed the gap to 48-47 with 12:53 to go in the contest. However, HSU fought itself off the ropes with the aforementioned 10-1 blitz, sparked by Baxter's consecutive treys, to regain a 58-48 bulge with 10:42 remaining.
The Jacks eventually stretched the lead to 73-54 after a Morris jumper with 5:04 on the clock. In the interim, the Gators were limited to seven free throws while attempting just one shot from the floor, effectively sealing their fate.
SF State must quickly recover from the defeat as Sonoma State is scheduled to visit “The Swamp” on Saturday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Seawolves (9-14, 7-12 CCAA) were an 89-86 winner in overtime on Friday at Cal State Monterey Bay.
"Saturday will be a big character test," Trevor concluded. "We need to find out who we are."
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