SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball overcame a shaky first half en route to a 72-65 victory over Academy of Art in the team's 2017-18 season opener in game one of the PacWest/CCAA Challenge.

"We came out and had some first game jitters. We had great looks but couldn't make a shot," said first-year head Coach Vince Inglima. "I was very proud of the defensive effort despite our bad shooting early, it kept us in the game. The guys just settled down and executed in the second half."

The Gators (1-0) led 10-9 early but fell silent a seven-minute span. ART U (0-1) countered with a 17-point run that found the Gators trailing 26-10. A Cobe Williams three-pointer gave the Urban Knights a 17-point lead with seven minutes to go in the first half but a nine-point Gators run trimmed the lead to single digits and SF State headed into the locker room down 33-24.

Jash Kahlon and Even Zeller opened the second half with back-to-back three pointers and Kenny Macklin's pair of free throws gave SF State its first lead of the second half. Freshman Michael Diaz assisted on a Chiefy Ugbaja layup at the 13-minute mark and the Gators never trailed after that. Five consecutive points from Kendall Brown trimmed the lead to 66-63 with 25 seconds to go but SF State held on and an Ugbaja dunk capped off the win.

After shooting just 28.1 percent (9-of-32) in the first half, the Gators shot the ball at 57.7 percent (15-of-26) over the final 20 minutes. On top of that, after going just 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from deep in the first half, the Gators found a rhythm, making 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) in the second half.

Senior Warren Jackson helped the Gators stay close in the first half with a team-high seven points. The preseason All-American finished with 10 points before fouling out with 4:10 to go. His second-half three pointer at the five-minute mark gave SF State its biggest lead of the game, 63-49.

"We were tested with Warren in foul trouble all second half," said Inglima. "I was encouraged by how other guys stepped up when he was on the bench. There's lots to improve, of course, this early in the season, but our effort and attitude were in mid-season form."

Zeller and Ugbaja led the team with 14 points apiece. Zeller had three three-pointers and five assists. Kahlon finished with 13 points and three three-pointers. Diaz added nine points and Brantley Bynum led all players with nine rebounds. Brown led all players with 20 points for the Urban Knights.

Up Next
The Gators face host Dominican on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. The Penguins are picked to finish eighth in the PacWest. Live stats and video will be provided by Dominican. Be sure to follow @sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.