SAN FRANCISCO– The SF State Gators will return home this Saturday, February 20 to host Bay Area rival, Sonoma State in their home finale of the 2015-16 regular season. Tip-off for Senior Night is set for 7:30pm PST at The Swamp at The Don Nasser Family Plaza. Prior to tip-off, the Gators will recognize their four seniors in
Justice Howard,
Andre Jones,
Jon McMurry and
Floyd Wormley.
The Gators come into Saturday evening's contest with a 14-9 overall record and an 8-9 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). SF State is currently tied with Sonoma State for the sixth spot for a berth in the CCAA Basketball Championships. The championships begin with First Round games on March 1 at the site of the four highest seeds. The semi-finals and finals will be on March 4 and 5 at The Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season on February 27 will receive a bid to the CCAA Basketball Championships. Cal State San Marcos is not eligible for this year's championships.
The Gators are just one game out of the fifth spot, which is held by Cal State Monterey Bay, heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. Chico State, UC San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona and Humboldt State hold the four top seeds heading into this week. The final four spots are Cal State Monterey Bay, SF State, Sonoma State and Cal State L.A. All 12 teams besides Cal State San Marcos still have a shot of making the 8-team tournament.
SF State went 2-0 in its games last week at Sonoma State and at home against Cal State San Marcos. SF State defeated Sonoma State last Tuesday 76-65 in Rohnert Park behind a strong first half which the Gators shot 67% from the field and outscored the Seawolves 51-27.
Jon McMurry paced the Gators with a game high 23 points, going 8-for-10 from the including going 6-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Warren Jackson chipped in 14 points for the Gators.
Then this past Thursday, the Gators defeated Cal State San Marcos 73-71 behind strong post play as they outscored the Cougars 42-14 in points in the paint. SF State also had a 25-13 in points off the bench and 14-0 advantage in second chance points. Jackson tied his season high with 20 points as he led the Gators in scoring.
Treaven Duffy recorded his first double-double as a Gator, scoring 17 points and grabbing a season high 11 rebounds.
Brantley Bynum added a season high 12 points for the victors, who also won the battle of the boards 42-27.
After last week, SF State is now averaging 70.4 points per game while giving up 67.7 points per game while shooting 44% from the field and 35.8% from three-point territory. The Gators are forcing 15.2 turnovers per game while recording 7.8 steals per game. They are also 14-2 when they score over 70 points with their only two losses on Dec. 12 at Humboldt State (85-80 overtime) and on January 22 versus Cal State East Bay (77-75 overtime).
Jackson leads the team with his 10.3 scoring average followed by McMurry's 9.6 ppg,
Coley Apsay's 9.3, Wormley's 8.9 ppg and Duffy's 7.8 ppg. Wormley leads the Gators with his 60 assists, 25 blocked shots, 5.4 rebounding average and 52.9% shooting from the field. McMurry is shooting a team high 41.8% from three's and has connected on a team best 38 three's. Apsay leads the Gators with his 92% shooting from the line, connecting on 46 of his 50 attempts.
Sonoma State comes into Saturday's contest with the Gators with a 13-10 overall record and an 8-9 CCAA record. After losing to the Gators on Tuesday, Sonoma State defeated Cal State San Marcos this past Saturday night at home in their senior night 102-70. The Seawolves shot 56% from the field and connected on 54% of their attempts from beyond the arc. All five starters scored in double digits for Sonoma State led by James Davis' game high 29 points. Michael Avery scored 16 points and dished out 7 assists while James Slade scored 15 points and Andy Mitchell and David Ahern each chipped in 12 points for the Seawolves.
The Seawolves are averaging 66.9 points per game while giving up 64.4 points per game while out-rebounding their opponents 34.1 to 32.7. They are also shooting 43.5% from the field and 38% from three's while holding their opponents to just 41% shooting from the field and 38% from three's.
Davis leads the way with his 13.3 scoring average, 65 three's made and 42% shooting from three-point land. Ahern is also averaging double digits in scoring with his 11.5 average and leads the team with his 86% shooting from the line. Slade has dished out a team leading 35 assists wand his tied with Davis with 27 steals. Luke Cochran has connected on a team high 61% of his shots from the field and Nathan Molony-Benjamin has blocked a team leading 27 shots.
After this Saturday's night's home finale, SF State will return to the court for the final time this regular season with a pair of conference games in Southern California. The Gators will travel to La Jolla, Calif., for a 7:30pm game on Friday, February 26 at No. 6 UC San Diego. Then they will face Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, February 27 for a scheduled 7:30pm contest in San Bernardino.
Game NotesLive Stats and Video of Saturday's GameUpdated CCAA Standings -----
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.
