Men's Basketball | 2/8/2016 1:25:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO– The SF State Gators will have a rare two weeks with just three games including two this coming Tuesday and Thursday. SF State will start this week with a CCAA showdown with Bay Area rival, Sonoma State, in Rohnert Park for a scheduled 7:30pm PST tip-off. The Gators will then host Cal State San Marcos for the first time this Thursday, February 9 at The Swamp at The Don Nasser Family Plaza. Tip-off for Thursday is also 7:30pm.
SF State is coming off a 1-1 weekend in which the Gators defeated Humboldt State 85-59 this past Friday before a packed house on Spirit Night. Then the next night, the No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos defeated the Gators 55-40. SF State is now 12-9 overall and 6-9 in the CCAA, which places them in the seventh spot (one game out of the sixth spot, two out of the fifth and three out of the fourth spot).
The top eight teams at the end of the regular season will receive a bid to the CCAA Basketball Championships which start on March 1 with First Round games. The four first round games will be at the site of the four highest seeds. The semi-finals and finals will be on March 4-5 at The Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. Cal State San Marcos is not eligible for the CCAA Basketball Championships this season.
In its game against Humboldt State this past Friday, SF State held the Lumberjacks to just 33% shooting including just 15% shooting from beyond the arc.
Jon McMurry paced the Gators with a game high 16 points with
Warren Jackson chipping in 15,
Floyd Wormley adding 14 and
Brantley Bynum had 10 points. SF State had 17 assists on its 28 made baskets including a season high four from
Coley Apsay and three each by
Damien Rance and
Treaven Duffy. With the win, SF State improved its record when the Gators score over 70 points to 12-2. Then on Saturday, SF State lost 55-40 to the nationally ranked Cal Poly Pomona Broncos with Bynum pacing the Gators with 11 points. This was the Gators' lowest scoring output of all season.
SF State is averaging 70 points per game while giving up 67.6 points per game while being out-rebounded 33.5 to 32.2 rebounds per game. The Gators are shooting 44% from the field including 35% from three's and 70.9% from the line. SF State's opponents are shooting 43.9% from the field and 36.9% from three's and 73% from the charity stripe. The Gators are forcing 15.3 turnovers while recording 7.8 steals per game and dishing out 12.8 assists per game.
Apsay leads the team with his 9.8 scoring average followed by Jackson's 9.7 while McMurry and Wormley each are averaging 9.1 points per game. Wormley leads the team with his 5.6 rebounding average, 22 blocked shots and 56.5% shooting from the field. Apsay leads the Gators with his 93.8% shooting from the line and 25 steals. Leading the team in three's is McMurry with his 40% shooting and 32 three's made.
In the latest NCAA Division II statistics report, Apsay is tied for 2
nd in the nation in free throw percentage with Bridgeport's Montana Mayfield. The Gators as a team are 23
rd in scoring defense and 39
th in turnover margin. Apsay leads the conference with his free throw percentage and is 9
th in steals. Wormley is 8
th in blocked shots while the Gators are 3
rd in turnover margin and steals while they are fourth in free throw percentage.
Tomorrow's evening showdown with Sonoma State is the first of the season between the two teams with the Gators holding a 48-39 advantage. The Seawolves won both meetings last season 56-54 in San Francisco and 55-51 in Rohnert Park. During the 2013-14 season, the Gators won both meetings 69-65 in Rohnert Park and 83-62 in San Francisco. The two teams will meet against next week on Saturday, February 20 in San Francisco.
Sonoma State comes into the game losing its last three games in a row including both last weekend 68-62 to No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona and 67-51 to Humboldt State. The Seawolves are now 12-9 overall and 7-8 in the CCAA, which places them in the sixth spot for the CCAA Basketball Championships. They are averaging 65.3 points per game while giving up 63.6 points per game. Sonoma State is out-rebounding its opponents 34.3 to 33.1 and shooting 42.7% from the field including 37% from three's. The Seawolves' opponents are shooting 41% from the field and 37% from three's. James Davis leads the way with his 12.9 scoring average followed by David Ahern's 11.4 points per game. Davis also leads the team with his 25 steals, 56 three's made and 41% shooting from three's. Ahern is shooting a team best 85% from the line with Luke Cochran shooting a team high 61% from the field. Nathan Molony-Benjamin is leads the Seawolves with his 27 blocked shots and 5.1 rebounding average while James Slade has dished out a team high 32 assists.
The Gators then will host the Cal State San Marcos Cougars this Thursday evening at The Swamp at The Don Nasser Family Plaza. The Cougars are 12-8 overall and 9-5 in the CCAA after going 1-1 this weekend at home against Cal State Dominguez Hills (77-72 victory) and Cal State L.A. (59-55 loss). If the Cougars were eligible for the CCAA Basketball Championships, they would be in the fourth spot.
Darnell Taylor leads the way for Cal State San Marcos with his 19.5 scoring average followed by Taran Brown at 11.8, Akachi Okugo at 11.3 and Andrew Bournes at 10.3. Taylor also leads the team with his 6.6 rebounding average, 29 blocked shots and 78% shooting from the line.
After Thursday's game, the Gators will be off until Saturday, February 20 when they host Sonoma State. This will be the Gators' Senior Night as they will recognize their seniors prior to the game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm PST.
Game NotesLive Stats-SF State at Sonoma StateLive Video and Stats-SF State vs. Cal State San Marcos -----
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.
