ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped its first-ever meeting with Angelo State on Saturday night, an 88-68 loss in both teams' second game of the Ron Logsdon Basketball Classic hosted by Sonoma State.
- DJ Sylvester led the Gators (2-2) with a season-high 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
- Zane Paddon led all players at the half with 16 but did not score in the second half.
- Linton Acliese had nine points and three rebounds, just the first time this season that the team's leading scorer hasn't reached double digits.
- Both Acliese and center Tyler Jackson, who had eight points and three rebounds, found themselves in foul trouble with four apiece.
- The Gators shoot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) in the first half but the Rams were even hotter at 61.9 percent (13-of-21). Both teams cooled off in the second half, though the Rams still shot 57.4 percent (27-of-47) on the night. SF State finished at 47.1 percent (24-of-51).
- Angelo State (2-0) was the most physical team that the Gators have seen this season, which resulted in 24 fouls against the Gators, compared to a dozen for the Rams. The Rams also won the rebounding battle 21-17.
- Collin Turner and Ronald Bell led the Rams with 22 points apiece. Paul Williams and Marcel Pettway each scored 11 points. Bell led all players with four.
The Gators jumped out to an early seven-point lead but the Rams took the lead just as quickly, 16-14. Ronald Bell's fast break dunk at the six-minute mark put the Rams up 32-28. Bell earned a Class B technical foul by slapping the rim and
Zane Paddon sank the resulting free throw. Then, Paddon drained a three to tie the game at 32-32. The Gators took the lead on a
Jase Wickliffe bucket at the 3:18 mark but the Gators were outscored 9-1 in the final three minutes of the half and found themselves down 42-36.
The Rams started the second half with an 8-2 run that found SF State trailing by a dozen and calling timeout. Down 13, Jacob Huynh buried a three-pointer, then Linton Acliese III scored a three-point play the old fashioned way that cut the lead to eight. Jase Wickliffe's left-corner three cut the lead to six and Acliese kept the Gators close with a pair of buckets around the rim. Then, Sylvester threw down a fast break dunk of his own to pull the Gators within four, 65-61. That's as close as SF State would get as Angelo State answered with a 12-1 run that was only interrupted because Bell slapped the backboard for a second time.
SF State now turns its focus to CCAA action. The Gators head south to face Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m., then on Saturday, November 23 travel to Cal State San Marcos for a 4 p.m. contest.
