SEASIDE, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team won another close CCAA contest on Sunday in an 84-82 victory at Cal State Monterey Bay that came down to the Gators' final possession.
Brantley Bynum's pair of free throws with under a minute to go gave San Francisco State (7-4/4-2 CCAA) an 82-80 lead, then an Otters (4-7/3-4 CCAA) turnover gave the ball back to SF State with 28 seconds to go. The Gators returned the favor with a turnover with 13.8 seconds remaining and Jahvon Johnson's layup with 7.7 seconds on the clock tied the game at 82-82. Bynum won it with a coast-to-coast layup with two seconds to go and Mateo Jones' three from past halfcourt for the win failed to fall.
"We knew going in that they were going to be a tough matchup with their shooters. We had trouble locating them early, but adjusted well in the second half," said Head Coach
Vince Inglima. "Our attention to detail at the end of games has to improve as we progress through the season. CCAA games are always battles, and you have to be sharp late in games to win consistently."
San Francisco State's zone defense forced 15 turnovers but conceded a season-high 18 three-pointers to the Otters, though it paid off in the end. The Otters were 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) from deep in the first half, compared to the Gators, who were just 1-of-8. Koen Sapwell's fourth three-pointer of the first half made it a 44-38 Otters lead before
Warren Jackson's layup trimmed the halftime deficit to 44-40. The Gators regained the lead early in the second half and never trailed during the final 10 minutes.
Four Gators reached double digits in the win, led by Bynum's game-high 20 points. The senior also pulled down five rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists. Ugbaja scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Warren Jackson, who had 10 points at halftime, finished with 16. Williams, who made his first start of the season, added 12 points in the victory.
Tyler Jackson led the Gators with a season-high nine rebounds.
"Brantley stepped up on the offensive end for us and made huge plays," added Inglima. "I'm very proud of his effort today."
Johnson shared a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting for the Otters. Sapwell added 18 points and matched a career-high six three-pointers. Josh Kollman scored 12 points in the loss.
Up Next
The Gators will return from the holidays for a road trip to Southern California at UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos. The Gators head to UCSD on Dec. 17 for a 7:30 p.m. conference game and play at Cal State San Marcos on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m. Live stats and video for the contests will be provided by the home teams. Be sure to follow
@sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.
