ARCATA, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball went quiet midway through the second half and saw its comeback effort fall short in a 78-70 defeat at Humboldt State on Thursday night.
- San Francisco State (5-6/2-3 CCAA) had four players in double digits for the fourth time this season. Jordan Balser led SF State with a season-high 15 points. Linton Acliese III had 13 points, Zane Paddon added 11 points, and DJ Sylvester had 10 points. Balser and Paddon both made three three-pointers apiece.
- Robert Lewis led all players with 26 points and nine rebounds for the Lumberjacks (6-3/2-2 CCAA). Jackson Strong added 22 points on six three-pointers. Leland Green had 18 points for the Lumberjacks.
- Acliese also snagged nine rebounds, all of which came in the first half.
- The Gators had their second-best shooting performance of the season at 50 percent (29-of-58).
The Gators had to work out of an early 7-1 hole. When the Gators pulled to within two, HSU pushed the lead right back to five. The Gators kept grinding though and tied the game at 23-23 with 6:32 to go thanks to
Jase Wickliffe's drive and one. Wickliffe sparked the Gators to a five-point lead with an assist to Sylvester in the corner for a three, then a feed into the post to
Tyler Jackson. Humboldt State regained the lead at the two-minute mark on a Lewis bucket, and the Gators countered on
Kenny Macklin's assist to Acliese that put SF State up with under a minute to go in the half.
Michael Diaz added a free throw and SF State led 34-32 at the half.
The Lumberjacks tied the game on the opening possession of the half and the lead traded hands five more times. Balser gave the Gators the lead, 40-39, but HSU doubled up the Gators 14-7 over the next four minutes and took a nine-point advantage. Sylvester slowed the momentum with a layup but a Strong three-pointer with under 10 minutes to go gave the Lumberjacks a double-digit lead. A 9-3 HSU run in the span of a minute and a half was what HSU needed to separate itself, as the Gators suddenly trailed by their largest margin, 64-50. Paddon got five points back for the Gators and Balser followed with a jumper that cut the lead back to seven with under seven to play in regulation. SF State made six of its next seven shots but was outscored by Strong and Green, who combined for 16 points over the same six-minute period. Alex Manu hit Balser in front of the Gators bench for a nothing-but-net three that cut the lead to six with under three minutes to play. After a Gators turnover, HSU called timeout with 1:51 to go. Out of the timeout, Balser drew an offensive foul and fouled out Zachary Christian to get the ball back to the Gators. Paddon hit a three near the top of the key that cut the lead to three with just over a minute to go. SF State fouled and HSU maintained its lead with seven free throws over the final minute.
SF State heads north to Humboldt State on Thursday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed for a cost on the CCAA Network and live stats will also be available for free at sfstategators.com.
