SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's basketball team rode a strong defensive effort and a well-balanced offensive attack to a 71-58 home victory over second-place UC San Diego on Saturday night.
SF State (14-9/10-7 CCAA) held the Tritons (15-7/12-4 CCAA) to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the field, well below the 45.6 percent that UCSD normally enjoys. The Tritons boast the CCAA's second and third top scorers, Christian Oshita (16.0 ppg) and Christian Bayne (15.9 ppg). Oshita finished with a game-high 21 points and team-high 10 rebounds but Bayne was limited to six points and just five field goal attempts. Scott Everman scored nine points but no other Triton scored more than six points. The Gators also dominated the glass 40-28 and converted 13 second chance points.
"That was the most engaged defensively we've been all year. We communicated at a high level and contested every shot," said Head Coach
Vince Inglima. "We've been searching for a win against at high quality opponent, and it feels great to get one."
The Gators fell behind early but closed the gap thanks to back-to-back buckets from
Brantley Bynum.
Chiefy Ugbaja's dunk gave the Gators their first lead of the night at 17-16 and the teams traded leads until SF State grabbed a slight 29-28 halftime lead.
After going down by four, SF State opened the game up thanks to a 17-7 run that put the hosts in control for the final 14 minutes.
Warren Jackson's three-pointer with 5:39 to go made it a 10-point lead and the Gators never led by less than eight after that.
The Gators shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field and outscored the Tritons 42-18 in the paint. Jackson led the Gators with 15 points. Ugbaja recorded a double-double with 14 points and a matched a career-high 12 rebounds. Bynum added 13 points and
Ryne Williams chipped in a dozen in the win.
Up Next
The Gators host Sonoma State on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video of the contest will be provided, and be sure to follow
@sfstate_mbb for in-game updates.
