SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team cruised to victory, 78-63, against Academy of Art in both teams' season openers on Friday in the Conlan Center.
- Linton Acliese III, who redshirted last season after earning back-to-back Coast Conference South Division MVP honors, led all players in scoring and rebounding. Acliese poured in a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep, and led all players with eight rebounds.
- Despite only playing four returners, eleven different Gators scored in the victory. Michael Diaz added nine points. Zane Paddon and Eche Okeke both added eight points apiece.
- SF State, picked to finish eight in the 13-team CCAA, led for nearly 32 minutes, including the last 31.
- Academy of Art, picked to finish seventh in the 12-team PacWest, committed 22 turnovers.
- Tim Graham led the Urban Knights with 12 points. Kai Tease and Luka Radovic added 11 points apiece.
- The two teams combined for 44 fouls.
ART U jumped out a five-point lead to start but SF State answered with an Acliese bucket and
Jordan Balser three-ball. The Gators took a 9-8 lead on a
Michael Diaz jumper went back ahead and led 18-17. That was the last the Gators would trail though as a Balser steal led to a
Jase Wickliffe layup that sparked a 7-0 run. The Gators led by 11 at the half.
Acliese started the half with the team's first six points on an and-one and a three-pointer. DJ Sylvester dished off to Wickliffe and the Gators led by 16 barely two minutes into action. SF State cruised to the finish line and led by as much as 18 in the second half.
Head Coach Vince Inglima: "We were down our starting center and I was proud of the tremendous effort. It's less about detail and how hard you want to play and how are you want to defend. Obviously there are things to clean up but when you compete at that level you're going to win ball games. A lot of these guys redshirted and we're still integrating everybody but we're scratching the surface of who we could be."
The Gators face host Dominican on Saturday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m. Video and live stats will be available, as well as coverage on @sfstate_mbb.
