SAN FRANCISCO —
Evan Zeller's career-high 26 points powered the San Francisco State men's basketball team to a 92-88 victory at Dominican on Saturday in the second day of the PacWest/CCAA Challenge.
The graduate student was named the Tournament MVP after posting 40 points in two games.
Chiefy Ugbaja, who had 21 points and a team-high seven rebounds, was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
"Evan was great all game. He hit huge shots late in the game to help us maintain our lead. Overall, it was a gritty effort as a group," said Head Coach
Vince Inglima. "We settled for too many jump shots in the first half. We really looked to pound the ball inside to
Jash Kahlon and
Brantley Bynum later in the game and they were very efficient down low."
The Gators (2-0) made their first five shots of the second half and finished at an incredible 81.5 percent (22-of-27) to finish the game at 56.7 percent (34-of-60). Bynum added 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting before he fouled out. Kahlon was the fourth Gator in double digits and finished his day with 11 points with three three-pointers.
Warren Jackson finished with seven points and six assists.
SF State got off to another slow start and trailed Dominican (0-2) 38-32 at the half. The Gators began the second half on fire. A Zeller three, a Jackson jumper, and a steal and bucket from
Jash Kahlon put SF State ahead for good, 41-40, with 17:36 to go.
Kenny Macklin's layup made it 43-40 and the lead grew to double digits at the eight-minute mark thanks to a Zeller dunk. He was fouled on the play and knocked down the free throw to make it 68-56. Dominican tightened the game late up with a 10-2 run, and trimmed the lead to just two points with under four minutes to go. Zeller came up with another big bucket and hit another three after Jackson came up with a steal that extended the lead back to a three-possession ballgame.
"We came out in the second half more committed to staying disciplined on the defensive end," said Inglima. "We also picked up the pressure, forced some turnovers, and that helped us get some easy looks on offense."
Jeremiah Gray led all players with his double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds, and had 17 points at the half. Reverend Maduakor added 15 points, Cedric Thomas had 13, and Jordan Williams had 11 points in the loss. However, Dominican committed 18 turnovers.
Up Next
San Francisco State will head to Long Beach State for an exhibition on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
Live stats and video will be provided by LBSU. Be sure to follow @sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.
