SEASIDE, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team bounced back on Saturday afternoon with an 85-64 road win at Cal State Monterey Bay on at the Kelp Bed.
The fourth-place Gators (15-8/11-7 CCAA) built a 15-point first-half lead and shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) to overpower the last-place Otters (2-22/2-17 CCAA), who were limited to 34.5 percent (28-of-58).
- Chiefy Ugbaja came away with seven steals, a new career-high. That gives him 152 career steals and moves him into a tie for the career program mark set by Nefi Perdomo (2009-14). He also had 12 points and seven rebounds.
- The Golden Gators trotted out their first new lineup in nine games.
- SF State is 5-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field and is 7-0 when holding teams to 34.5 percent or less.
- The Gators won the rebounding battle, 42-32.
- SF State led for 37:51 and never trailed in the game.
- Zane Paddon led the Gators with 15 points.
- Michael Diaz had a career day with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- Jiday Ugbaja also added 14 points.
- Joseph Bosetti led all players with 17 points in the loss. Koen Sapwell added 15 points.
Michael Diaz's elbow jumper got the game going. Tied 7-7,
Jiday Ugbaja scored a layup and hit a second-chance three-pointer to put the Gators up 12-17.
Jase Wickliffe's reverse layup and a pair of
Ryne Williams free throws capped a 9-0 run.
Tyler Jackson's layup with 2:26 to go in the half extended the lead to 16 and the Gators went into halftime leading 46-31.
The two teams played fairly even in the second half, and the Gators outscored the Otters by six points despite going just 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) in the half. The Otters trimmed the lead to nine with back-to-back threes in the first two minutes but a Diaz bucket put the lead back up to double digits. The Gators led by 10 at the 13-minute mark and pushed it to 13 on a Paddon three-pointer. The Otters kept chipping away but Michael Diaz found Tyler Jackson for the dunk to sustain the double-digit lead. That sparked a 7-0 Gators run and built the lead to 15.
The Gators return home for the final two regular season home games of the season, Purple Out on Thursday, February 21 and Senior Day on Saturday, February 23. On Thursday, the first 500 fans through the doors at that night's doubleheader will receive a free replica SF State basketball jersey. At halftime, the women's track & field team will be presented rings for their 2018 CCAA Championship. Throughout the homestand, the SF State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be collecting non-perishable items for the CCAA Food Drive. Be sure to follow San Francisco State men's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @sfstate_mbb.
