CARSON, California - The San Francisco State men's basketball team fell to host Cal State Dominguez Hills, 66-63, to open up the CCAA slate.
- SF State shot (2-3/0-1 CCAA) .386 but shot a season low .308 from deep.
- Linton Acliese led the way in 34 minutes with 23 points and added five rebounds. Jordan Balser made 3-of-4 four from deep for ten points. DJ Sylvester had nine points.Â
- Jase Wickliffe hauled in six rebounds.
Michael Diaz hit a jumper that cut the Gator deficit to one, 9-8. Balser hit two deep threes from roughly the same spot that tied it up, 14-14. Both defenses were strong for the next couple minutes as we reached the nine-minute mark where the Toros (3-2/1-0 CCAA) got four from the charity stripe to regain the lead. A pair of Kenny Macklin free throws with just over seven left in the half cut it to 21-16. Down 23-19, Acliese nailed a triple off an assist from Wickliffe to make it a one-point game, and Acliese's second splash of the night put the Gators up 27-26 with 2:39 to play in the half. The Toros were able to get a 5-0 run to go back up by four, capped off by their fifth three-pointer of the night. Zane Paddon added a nice layup off an inside pass from Acliese with 32 second left, but Kaden Bradley hit a three with nine left as the Toros went into the break up 36-31.
Acliese's three began the second, but the Toros regained the four-point lead. Acliese continued his lights-out shooting from deep as he cut it to one from the left side. DJ Sylvester put the Gators up 43-42 with a layup. Balser drained another three with 123:30 left to put the Purple and Gold up three. The hosts were able to bounce back late with a 10-0 run that put them up 66-61 with 1:37 remaining in regulation. Acliese cut it to three with just over a minute left with a drive and finish, but the Toros got key stops on defense to seal the conference opening win.Â
The Gators continue the road trip at Cal State San Marcos at 4 p.m. Live stats and a stream will be provided.
