SAN FRANCISCO — Warren Jackson reached 1,000 career points and Evan Zeller led all players with 23 points but the San Francisco State men's basketball team fell 78-68 to first-place Cal Poly Pomona on Friday night in CCAA action.

The Gators (7-6/4-5 CCAA) find themselves under .500 in conference play for the first time this season. SF State outscored the Broncos (10-2/7-1 CCAA) 38-26 in the second half but spotted the Broncos a 13-0 lead to begin the game. Another 11-0 Broncos run made it a 24-5 deficit at the 10-minute mark. The Gators made 17 free throws in a row in the first half but limped into halftime trailing 52-30.

"We have a nasty habit of not coming to the game with enough energy and intensity early in the games. We have to make a change and need to be better in those circumstances. We're outplaying most teams in the second half," said Head Coach Vince Inglima. "Cal Poly Pomona is a great basketball team and they're going to be hard to beat on any given day but if you put yourself down 22 points in the first half it makes it pretty much impossible to win."

After going just 5-of-20 (25 percent) in the first half, the Gators shot 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) in the second half. A 12-1 Gators run trimmed the lead to 13 and a backdoor from Warren Jackson to Ryne Williams at the 10-minute mark made it a 10-point ballgame. SF State got as close as seven points with under a minute to go.

Jackson reached the 1,000-point mark with a free throw with 1:56 remaining and finished his night with eight points, three assists, and two steals. Zeller recorded with his first 20-point performance since Dec. 1 and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Brantley Bynum scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds while Williams added 10 points in the loss.

"It was great to see Evan break out. He hadn't been shooting well but he's too good of a player," said Inglima. "Warren has only been here two and a half years so 1,000 points is quite an achievement."

CPP went 17-of-30 (56.7 percent) in the first half but was limited to 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) in the second half. The Broncos were led by Quentin Taylor's 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting including three three-pointers. William Christmas added 14 points and Jordan Ogundiran and Nikhil Peters each chipped in a dozen points apiece. Ogundrian also added six rebounds and 10 assists, both team-highs.

Up Next
The Gators host Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. following the women's game at 5:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available, and be sure to follow @sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.