SAN FRANCISCO — A sold out crowd turned out in force for Purple Out IV and the San Francisco State men's basketball team did not disappoint in a thrilling 87-78 victory over Cal State LA.
The win moved the Gators (5-2) to 2-0 in CCAA action while Cal State LA (6-2) fell to 2-1 on the young season. San Francisco State has now won seven of the last 10 meetings with the Golden Eagles.
Outside of a two-minute span in which the game was tied, SF State led the entire night. Cal State LA, who entered the night on a five-game winning streak, never held a lead in the contest.
"This game was really about our energy level. We were able to build that big lead in the second half and, as with every conference game, nobody's going to roll over," said Head Coach
Vince Inglima. "Credit to Cal State LA, they kept playing and playing."
Even Zeller's fast break layup from
Warren Jackson set the tone and the two guards were the driving force of a balanced SF State Attack. The Gators led 16-9 at the 12-minute mark in the first half and a Zeller three-pointer a minute and a half later gave SF State its first double-digit lead of the night. The lead dipped to four before another Zeller three built the lead back to 11. SF State went into the locker room with a 44-35 halftime advantage.
With eight minutes to play in the game,
Brantley Bynum's layup gave the Gators their largest lead of the night, 70-50. The lead dissolved though. Garrett Carter answered with a three-pointer at the other end that sparked a 14-0 Golden Eagles run that shaved the lead to 70-64 with five minutes to play.
Jash Kahlon's third three-pointer stopped the bleeding and pushed the lead back to nine. A
Chiefy Ugbaja three-point play restored the double digit lead, though another 8-0 run by Cal State LA trimmed the deficit all the way to two points with just over two minutes to go. A Jackson layup made it a two-possession game and a pair of Bynum free throws grew the lead back to six. With under a minute to go, Jackson dribbled from the left side to the top of the key, where he nearly lost the ball but dropped to one knee, kept his handle, dribbled to his right, and nailed a three-pointer. That all but sealed it for the Gators as the crowd noise grew to a deafening roar in the sold-out venue.
"Another indication of how quality a team we have, and our senior leadership, is we were able to right the ship and make the plays down the stretch that gave us that cushion to finish the game," added Inglima.
SF State shot the ball at 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the field and 50 percent from deep (9-of-18). Zeller led all players with 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting with five threes. Jackson had 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Bynum added nine points, five rebounds, and a pair of blocks.
The Gators also held a 31-23 advantage on the glass, led by 11 from Ugbaja, who had a double-double with 15 points, plus a team-high four blocks.
Carter led the Golden Eagles with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
The game, which was broadcast live on Comcast Hometown Network, was the first of two televised games at the Swamp this season. The next game will be Spirit Night on Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Cal State San Marcos at 7:30 p.m. SF State is right back at it on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. when Cal State Dominguez Hills (3-6/1-2 CCAA) comes calling. Live stats and video will be available at
sfstategators.com. Be sure to follow
@sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.
