LOS ANGELES — Linton Acliese III made a free throw with seven seconds remaining to lift the San Francisco State men's basketball team to a 73-72 victory at Cal State LA on Thursday night.

By the Numbers

• SF State (5-4/2-1 CCAA) never trailed on Thursday, avenging last season's CCAA Championships first round overtime loss to Cal State LA (5-4/1-3 CCAA).
• Acliese led the Gators with 18 points on 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) shooting. He also led the Gators with 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
• Zane Paddon scored a dozen points, all in the first half. He also matched a career-high eight rebounds.
• Alex Manu, Jase Wickliffe, and Eche Okeke all added eight points apiece. Manu also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists before fouling out.
• The Gators dominated the glass yet again, winning the rebounding battle 38-26.
• SF State outscored Cal State LA 34-22 in the paint but surrendered 20 points off turnovers and 15 fast break points.
• A season-low 37.5 percent shooting (6-of-16) at the free throw line nearly cost the Gators the game down the stretch.
• Michael-Isaiah Ajiboye led the Golden Eagles with 19 points on 6-of-6 shooting including a perfect 4-of-4 from deep. Shacquille Dawkins and Fard Muhammad added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
• The Gators improved to 1-1 in purple jerseys this season. The first 350 fans attending the doubleheader on Saturday, December 7 will receive a replica purple jersey.

First Half

Manu, making his first start as a Gator, scored the team's first five points. After CSULA's Khalil Williams tied it 10-10 with a three-pointer, the Gators answered with a 7-0 run. They coupled that with an 8-1 run and quickly led 32-20. The lead grew to as large as 17 thanks to another 7-0 run and the Gators cruised to a 43-32 halftime lead.
 

Second Half

SF State maintained its lead in the second half, although things began to get dicey at the eight-minute mark. Muhammad sank a pair of free throws to cut the lead to single digits, then followed with a layup to make it a two-possession game. Okeke slowed the attack with a layup of his own but Ja'Sean Lewis buried a three at the other end that cut the lead to five with under six minutes to play. The Gators missed crucial free throws that could build the lead back and a Dawkins layup made it a one-point game with two minutes to play. SF State missed two more free throws but Michael Wright's turnover with 1:27 to go put the ball back into the hands of the Gators and Jase Wickliffe's layup built the lead back to three with a minute to go. A Muhammad three-pointer tied the game with 36 seconds to play and the Gators called timeout with 24 seconds remaining. With seven seconds remaining, Acliese was fouled on a three-pointer. He only made the second attempt but it was enough. The Golden Eagles came up with the rebound but Khalil Williams turned the ball over, sealing the victory for the Gators.
 

Up Next

SF State plays returns home to host Cal State East Bay on Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. That is Purpleout and the first 350 fans through the doors at Saturday's doubleheader will receive a free replica SF State purple jersey. The game will be streamed on the CCAA Network and live stats will also be available at sfstategators.com.