SAN FRANCISCO — In dominating fashion, the San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped the Academy of Art on Friday, 78-41, to open up the 2018-19 campaign and the San Francisco State Tipoff Classic.
- The Gators (1-0) made 12 three-pointers, which is the most since November of 2017 when they made 15 against Northwest Nazarene.
- The 41 points conceded are the fewest allowed since since they held Chico State to 38 this past February.
- Kenny Macklin and Ryne Williams both led the way with 13 points each, and Williams also grabbed seven boards, five of which came on the defensive end.
- Macklin was a perfect 3-for-3 from deep, which is a career high, and 5-of-8 from the floor. Zane Paddon scored 10, and was 50 percent (3-of-6) from the field.
- Jase Wickliffe also had three triples and had nine points. Jordan Balser added eight points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
It was a defensive battle for the first five minutes before SF State finally broke through and Jiday Ugbaja hit one from deep for the 3-0 lead. Macklin added to the scoreboard with a jumper in the lane, and he later made a layup near the baseline midway through the half. Brian Nebo drove through the lane and converted the contested layup and next possession Niquis Garland dropped in a triple off an assist by Chiefy Ugbaja for the 12-0 lead and force a visitor timeout.
Finally with 9:15 left in the half, Art got on the board as Zuri Williams hit a free throw, and they later got a three from Stefan Milivojevic to make it 12-4. A Williams layup off a dish from Garland made it a 13-point lead with just over six to go. The Gators continued to roll of defense, holding Art to just 11 percent (2-18) in the first 16 minutes of play, including 1-of-8 from deep. Williams added a triple off a pass from Garland, extending the lead to 22-6, and J. Ugbaja knocked down a jumper from the left as the Gators now lead by 18.
Michael Diaz converted a pair from the charity stripe, bringing the total to 29. The Urban Knights (0-1) would close out the half with two of their own from the free throw line, and SF State stormed into the break up 29-8. The eight points conceded in the half are the lowest amount allowed in the last five seasons.
Williams began the second half with a layup, and the dominance from three-point range continued as Macklin converted from the top of the key and Williams and Wickliffe each followed from deep to give SF State three-straight from long range and go up 40-11 with just over 15 minutes left.
With 13:54 remaining Macklin dished to
Tyler Jackson in the paint, who put a move on the defender and went up for the dunk and drew the and-one foul. A couple minutes later, Williams got his and-one as he grabbed the offensive board and put in the contested layup for the 53-16 lead. Macklin poured in his fifth three-pointer, this time coming from the left corner, at 6:59 off C. Ugbaja's third assist of the night, widening the lead to 66-2. The Gators continued to roll, pushing the lead to 74-31 following a pair of
Jordan Balser free throws.
Matt Arrivas got in the score column with a layup with a 1:25 left to wrap up the Gator scoring.
The Gators close out the San Francisco State Tipoff Classic tomorrow against Dominican at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video stream will be provided.
