SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's basketball team put on a dominant defensive effort in the first half en route to a 67-38 victory over second-place Chico State on Friday night at home.
The Gators (17-10/13-8 CCAA), who are currently in fifth place and could finish as high as tied for third place in the CCAA, held the Wildcats (18-7/15-6 CCAA), who entered the game winners of nine of their last ten, to 23.1 percent (12-of-52) shooting. Friday also marked the first time since December 12, 2009 that the Gators held an opponent to under 40 points.
"That was an impressive defensive performance, the best that we've had all year. Our energy level and our communication was extremely high," said Head Coach
Vince Inglima. "We did a good job of taking a regionally-ranked team out of what they wanted to do. Our guys executed our game plan to a T."
For the first 18 minutes of the night, SF State held Chico State to a lone field goal, a Jalen McFerren three-pointer at the 17-minute mark. The Wildcats didn't score another field goal until 1:25 left and finished just 2-of-21 (9.5 percent) for the first half. The Wildcats stayed remotely close thanks to 13 free throw attempts, of which the Wildcats made six. In the first half, the Gators forced 11 turnovers and shot 50 percent (11-of-22). The Gators led by no fewer than a dozen in the second half.
Brantley Bynum scored a game-high 17 points, including a sensational dunk off the backboard from
Warren Jackson on the fast break. Jackson added 10 points and nearly made it a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds.
Chiefy Ugbaja added 13 points and
Evan Zeller finished with eight points.
The Wildcats did not have a player in double digits and were led by Malik Duffy's nine points off the bench. Isaiah Ellis added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Duffy and Ellis were also the only two Wildcats to tally more than one field goal with three apiece.
Up Next
SF State closes out the regular season at home versus Humboldt State (9-17/6-14 CCAA) on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. The Gators will honor their four seniors – Bynum, Jackson,
Jash Kahlon, and Zeller – in a pregame ceremony. Live stats and video will be available and be sure to follow
@sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.
