QUEENS, NY – The visiting SF State Gators gave the St. John's (NY) Red Strom everything they could handle in this afternoon's exhibition game at Carnesecca Arena on St. John's campus in Queens, New York. St. John's (NY) DeAngelo Harrison connected on the Red Storm's final three points in the final 17 seconds including a free throw with five seconds left to give the hosts the 82-80 win in an exhibition game with the visiting SF State Gators. The visitors had a chance for the victory, but their three-point attempt hit the rim as the buzzer sounded.

"We weathered the storm early as we hit a couple of shots to gain our confidence," said SF State head coach Paul Trevor. "We competed at a high level today and did very well and I am very proud of our guys."

The visiting SF State Gators, who are picked to finish third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's basketball pre-season poll, held the Division I St. John's (NY) Red Storm to just 41% shooting from the field including 31% from three-point land. The Gators also forced 18 turnovers by their hosts.

Two-time All-CCAA performer Nefi Perdomo paced the Gators with 23 points in 38 minutes. The redshirt senior finished with 23 points as he went 8 of 15 from the field including 4 of 7 from three-point land. Perdomo also made three of his four attempts from the charity stripe, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists.

Junior college transfer Udun Osakue added 15 points off the bench for SF State, who was ranked ninth in the 2012-13 NCAA Division II West Region final rankings last season. Osakue was 5 of 6 from the field including connecting on his only trey. He also grabbed five rebounds and recorded three steals.

Also scoring in double digits for the Gators was senior post player Max Fodor, who had 10 points.

SF State shot 51% from the field including 56% from three-point land (connecting on 9 of 16 from beyond the arc) while making 7 of its 9 attempts from the line. The Gators had 18 assists with Bren Haley's five leading the way for the guests.

The Red Storm built a 12-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game capped by two made free throws by Sir'Dominic Pointer.

A 12-2 run by the Gators capped by a three by Perdomo gave the visitors the 16-14 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Derrick Brown's three on the Gators' next possession gave the visitors a 19-14 lead.

St. John's went on a run of its own as the Red Storm retook the lead with an 11-0 run capped by two more free throws by Pointer.

Bennie Rhodes' jumper ended the Gators' drought to cut the deficit to 25-21.

Three made free throws by D'Angelo Harrison with five minutes left in the first half increased the Red Storm's lead to 33-27.

SF State went on another run, this time and 8-0 run, as the Gators took a 35-33 lead on a Brandon Tatum dunk with three minutes left.

God'sgift Achiuwa hit a jumper to give the hosts a 39-27 lead. A jumper by Rysheed Jordan increased the hosts' lead to 41-37 with 70 seconds left in the half.

A three by Gator freshman Nick Calcaterra off an assist from Bren Haley cut the Gators' deficit to 41-40 heading into the half.

SF State came out on fire in the beginning of the second half as the Gators outscored their Big East hosts 12-9 in the first four minutes to take a 52-50 lead.

The visitors continued to hold on to their lead as Haley's lay-up with 10:03 on the clock increased their lead to 64-59.

The Gators continued to build on their lead as a lay-up by Fodor off an assist from Perdomo gave them a 73-65 lead with eight minutes to go in the game.

St. John's followed that with an 8-2 run as it cut the Gators' lead to 75-73 on a dunk by Orlando Sanchez with a little under six minutes on the clock.

A three by Osakue gave SF State back a 78-73 lead, but the hosts would not go away as they cut the deficit to 78-77 on a Harrison lay-up with four minutes left.

Calvin Otiono's lay-up with two minutes to go gave SF State a 80-77 lead, but St. John's Jordan made a lay-up of his town to cut the lead back to one (80-79) with 1:53 on the clock.

Both teams missed on the next couple of opportunities until Harrison hit a jumper to give the Red Storm back the lead for the first time since early in the second half with just 17 ticks left on the game clock.

SF State had a chance to retake the lead after a time out, but the Gators missed the jumper. They were forced to foul and Harrison made one of his two attempts from the charity stripe with five seconds left.

The Gators had another chance to retake the lead, but their three-point attempt fell short as the buzzer sounded.

Harrison finished with 29 points for the Red Strom and Jordan added 16 points for the hosts.

_{"It was a great exhibition game," added Trevor. "I hope coach Lavin and St. John's got a lot out of that." "Tuning them up for the BIG EAST and for the rest of the season." "For us, it was a great experience." "Our guys came out and played hard." "We have a lot of seniors and they really showed a lot of resiliency tonight."}

SF State will open up its 2013-14 regular season on November 19, when the Gators travel to Rocklin, Calif., for a 7pm tip-off with the William Jessup University Warriors. They will then travel to Chico, Calif., on Nov. 29-30 to participate in the Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational before having their home and CCAA opener on Friday, December 6 at 7:30pm versus Chico State University.

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