Men's Basketball | 12/14/2015 1:20:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO—The SF State Gators' men's basketball will return to the court for the final time this calendar year of 2015 this Friday, December 18 when they host the Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders. Tip-off for this non-conference game is scheduled for 5pm PST at The Swamp at The Don Nasser Family Plaza.
The Gators are coming off a heartbreaking 85-80 overtime road conference loss to Humboldt State in Arcata this past Saturday evening. SF State led 65-60 with three minutes left in regulation, but the Lumberjacks went on a 7-2 run to close out the game to send the game into overtime. Humboldt State scored the first six points in the extra period and increased its lead to 82-72 with 34 ticks left in overtime. The Gators would not go away as they cut the deficit to 83-80, but the hosts hit two free throws with three seconds left to take the 85-80 overtime win.
Coley Apsay and
Floyd Wormley each had their first collegiate double-doubles for the Gators. Apsay scored a team high 23 points (6-for-13 from the field and 5-for-9 from three's) and grabbed 10 rebounds while Wormley had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Warren Jackson added 15 points for the guests. This was the Gators' third overtime period as they won their other two (Nov. 14-78-76 over Pacific Union and Nov. 28-73-72 at Academy of Art).
SF State, under the guidance of sixth-year head coach
Paul Trevor, is now 5-3 overall and 0-3 in the CCAA while averaging 73.1 points per game and giving up 72.0 points. The Gators are shooting 45.6% from the field including 37.1% from three-point land. They are also connecting on 72.2% of their attempts from the charity stripe. SF State's defense is forcing 13.8 turnovers per game while recording 8.0 steals per game.
Apsay and Wormley lead the team with their 11.9 and 11.1 scoring average while Jackson is right behind them at 9.6 points per game followed by
Nick Calcaterra (8.9 ppg). Apsay also leads the team with his 44% shooting from three's, 92% shooting from the charity stripe and is tied with Calcaterra each with 15 three's made and with Jackson each with 11 steals. Wormley leads the team with his 5.4 rebounding average, 22 assists, 66% shooting from the field and 6 blocked shots.
In the recent NCAA Division II statistics that were released today, Apsay is 22
nd in the nation in free throw percentage. The junior guard also is third in the CCAA in free throw percentage, tied for 12
th in steals and 14
th in three-point field goal percentage. Wormley leads the conference with his field goal percentage while he is 9
th in free throw percentage and tied for 15
th in assists. As a team, the Gators are second in the conference in steals and third in free throw percentage.
Friday's game between SF State and Northwest Nazarene will be the second ever meeting between the two teams with the Gators winning the first meeting Nov. 22, 2008, 87-73, in the Ron Logsdon Classic in Rohnert Park. This will be SF State's last non-conference game of the regular season as the Gators are 5-0 in non-conference games including 4-0 against NCAA Division II West Regional opponents.
The Crusaders come into their game this evening at Cal State L.A. with a 4-2 overall record. Their two losses were on the road in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (77-72 at Alaska and 90-78 at Alaska-Anchorage). They are coming off an 88-81 overtime win over Dominican (Calif.) this past Saturday at home.
Northwest Nazarene, under the guidance of first-year head coach Scott Flemming, is averaging 83.3 points per game while giving up 77.8 points per game. The Crusaders are shooting 46.5% from the field, 38% from three's and 70% from the line. Four Crusaders are averaging double digits in scoring led by Mike Wright's 18.3 scoring average. Detwon Rogers is second on the team at 17.2 ppg followed by Bouna N'Diaye 16.8 and Joel Devastey 11.8.
Wright also leads the team with his 42 assists, 10 steals and 18 three's made while Devastey is shooting a team leading 55% from the field and N'Diaye is shooting a team high 48% from three's. N'Diaye leads the team with his 13 blocked shots and Rogers is averaging a team high 6.2 rebounds per game. Rogers also leads the Crusaders with his 48% shooting from three's.
After their game on Friday evening, SF State will be off until January 1 when the Gators travel to Hayward, Calif., for a 4pm PST CCAA game with Cal State East Bay. The Gators will then travel to Seaside the next evening for a 7:30pm scheduled conference game with Cal State Monterey Bay. They will return home on January 7 at 7:30pm when they host No. 14 UC San Diego in a conference game at The Swamp at The Don Nasser Family Plaza.
Live Video and Live Stats of Friday's Game with Northwest NazareneGame Notes -----
Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
