CARSON, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped its first game of 2019 with an 86-76 road loss at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday evening in the Torodome.
The Golden Gators (8-5/4-4 CCAA) were unable to stave off the third-place Toros (7-4/5-1 CCAA), who won their fourth consecutive game and are unbeaten at home.
- Both teams shot at least 40 percent from the field and from behind the three-point line.
- Jiday Ugbaja led the Gators with 16 points off of the bench and six assists, one short of his career mark.
- Zane Paddon followed up his career day with 15 points, bringing his average up to 7.7 points per game.
- Chiefy Ugbaja added 10 points.
- Starters Ryne Williams and Jordan Balser each tallied nine points apiece. Williams also had a game-high nine rebounds.
- The Toros had four players in double digits, led by 21 from Wonder Smith. Reserves Colten Kresl and David Howard added 18 and 16 points, respectively.
The teams fought for the lead in the first half. Down a point, the Gators used an 11-2 run to grab the first significant lead of the game.
Chiefy Ugbaja's three-pointer at the 11-minute mark capped the run and gave SF State a 21-13 lead. The Toros cut the lead to six and back-to-back threes from Kresl and Smith tied the game at 26-26 with under eight minutes remaining in the half. A David Howard layup and pair of Kresl free throws grew the CSUDH run to 10 and found the Gators trailing by two possessions. The Gators pulled within two points but trailed by six, 40-34, at the half.
Two minutes into the second half, Zane Paddon's bucket made it a one possession ballgame but the Toros responded with a 7-0 run that pushed the deficit back to double digits. The Gators trailed by as many as 13 but made a late push. Down 11 with 6:57 to go, Jiday Ugbaja made four consecutive free throws and Chiefy Ugbaja's layup with 5:04 to play cut the lead to five. The Gators made four of their final eight buckets but the Toros made eight free throws in the final minute.
San Francisco State's road trip continues on Saturday, January 5 at 3 p.m. at Cal State LA. Live stats and video will be available, and be sure to follow San Francisco State men's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @sfstate_mbb.
