SAN FRANCISCO — Linton Acliese III poured in a game-high 24 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds but it wasn't enough for the San Francisco State men's basketball team to edge second-place Chico State in an 83-69 loss on Saturday evening inside the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- Acliese's 24 points came on 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) shooting. His 18.2 points per game are second in the CCAA behind Cal State East Bay's Zafir Williams (19.7 ppg).
- Tyler Jackson matched a career-high 13 points. Jase Wickliffe added 12 points and five rebouds in the loss.
- Calvin Geraci was one of five Wildcats in double digits and led Chico State with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Isiah Brooks added 14, Kevin Warren had 11, and Justin Briggs and Joshua Hamilton added 10 points apiece.
- The Gators were outrebounded 33-24 and that proved costly, as the Wildcats scored a dozen second-chance points.
- The six-game losing streak is the longest in program history dating back to the 2011-12 season, in which the Gators suffered a six-game losing streak from January 12-21. Meanwhile, the Wildcats (12-3/8-2 CCAA), who are receiving votes in the NCAA Division II Top 25, won their sixth straight.
The Gators went down 9-2 early but tied it 10-10 thanks to a five-point run by Wickliffe.
A minute and a half later, the Wildcats regained the lead but the Gators answered on a 6-0 run. The Wildcats answered right back to tie it at 20 with just under nine to play. The Gators countered with four points but the Wildcats scored the next six to grab a 26-24 lead. Acliese reset the game at 26-26 with another layup but the Wildcats scattered a pair of three-pointers to gain some ground.
DJ Sylvester's jumper with under a minute to go cut the deficit to three.
However, an SF State turnover with a chance to chip away further proved costly. Out of a timeout,
Alex Manu's lob into Acliese on the post was stolen. That forced
Sean Orr to foul on a fast break with .6 seconds left on the clock and Spencer LaShells converted a pair of free throws that pushed the lead to five at the half.
Chico State pushed the lead to 54-44 with 15:41 to go and forced a Gators timeout. The Gators made a short run and cut the lead to six with 11 minutes to play when Acliese came off a screen in front of the SF State bench and buried an off-balance three.
However, the Wildcats had the answer yet again and back-to-back threes grew the Chico State's lead back to double digits. An Isiah Brooks three-pointer rimmed in to beat the shot clock and extended Chico State's lead to 15 with five and a half to play. The Gators cut the lead to 10 on a Huynh three-pointer, followed by a pair of Acliese free throws, but the Wildcats pushed the lead right back to 15. SF State never got the lead down past double digits in the final three minutes.
The homestand wraps up on Saturday, January 11 at 3 p.m. when the Gators host Sonoma State (3-11/2-7 CCAA). The game will be streamed on the CCAA Network and live stats will also be available at sfstategators.com.
