CHICO, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team had five players in double digits as the Gators held on for a 74-70 victory at Chico State on Thursday night in Acker Gymnasium.
The Gators remain in fourth place. There is now a three-way tie for first place with Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego both winning but Cal State East Bay losing to Cal State San Marcos.
- SF State has had two games this season in which five or more Gators scored in double digits (88-79 win at Cal State LA on Jan. 5, 2019).
- Jiday Ugbaja led all players with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He had a dozen at the half on perfect 5-of-5 shooting.
- Zane Paddon added 13 points and was 3-of-4 from downtown.
- Tyler Jackson added 10 points and a team-high rebounds.
- Jordan Balser and Ryne Williams both added 10 points apiece.
- The Gators are 4-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from deep.
- The Gators outscored the Wildcats 10-0 off of turnovers in the first half.
- SF State took care of the ball in the first half. The Gators had just four turnovers while scoring 10 points off of turnovers.
- Kevin Warren led the Wildcats with 17 points. Isiah Brooks added 17 and Spencer LaShells had 11 in the loss.
- The Gators eliminated the Wildcats from playoff contention. It's the first time since 2008 that Chico State has failed to make the postseason.
The Gators defense smothered the Wildcats in the first half. Chico State was limited to 35.7 percent (10-of-28) and just 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from distance. In contrast, the Gators barely missed, going 53.6 (15-of-28) from the field and a blistering 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from deep. The Gators went down 6-0 quickly but a pair of
Zane Paddon three-pointers kept the Gators in it early. Trailing by five, the Gators held Chico State scoreless for nearly five minutes while going on a 10-0 run that gave SF State a 16-11 lead. Back-to-back threes from
Jiday Ugbaja pushed the lead to 10 at the eight-minute mark. SF State grew the lead to as large as a dozen and took a 39-29 advantage into the locker room.
Paddon started the half with a quick jumper but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run that shrank the Gators lead to five. Jackson stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws but the Wildcats soldiered on with another 5-0 run that cut the lead to two. Michael Diaz found Paddon for another three to make it a two-possession game. That also sparked a 7-0 run that pushed the lead back to nine.
Wildcats forward Marvin Timothy stole it off of a Gators inbounds pass and was fouled on the fast break layup. He converted the three-point play to tie it 57-57 but was whistled for foul and then a technical foul, which was also his fifth, at the other end. That instantly shifted the momentum back to the Gators. Jordan Balser made the technical foul free throws and Ugbaja made one to put the Gators up three, then Chiefy Ugbaja's 154th career steal led to a three-point play that put the Gators up six.
SF State looked in good position when Jiday Ugbaja tipped an inbounds pass and came up with the steal but the Gators failed to score at the other end. Then, Nate Ambrosini cut the lead to three with a three-pointer. Balser hit an 18-footer with under a minute to go but the Wildcats answered with a three of their own. The Wildcats fouled and Williams made the second of two free throws. The Wildcats' Kevin Warren made a layup to cut the lead to one, then Chico State fouled Jiday Ugbaja, who made both. Up three, the Gators fouled to avoid the tie. Brooks made the first but couldn't come up with the offensive rebound on the miss and was forced to foul Williams. The Gators' senior center iced the game with a pair of free throws with two-tenths of a second remaining.
The Gators finish out the regular season on the road at Humboldt State on Saturday, March 2. The first round of the CCAA Championships will take place on Tuesday, March 5 with the final seedings still in flux. Be sure to follow San Francisco State men's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @sfstate_mbb.
