ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped its fifth straight game with a 78-69 loss at Sonoma State on Saturday afternoon.
- The Gators (8-16/5-13 CCAA) have now lost their last five games, the longest losing streak dating back to the 2011-12 season in which the Gators had a six-game losing streak in January of that season.
- The last-place Seawolves (5-18/4-14 CCAA) snapped a 14-game losing streak.
- SF State now sits in 11th place with five games to go. The top eight teams will advance to the CCAA Tournament.
- Linton Acliese III led all players with 24 points and a team-high eight rebounds. However, he didn't get much help. No other Gator reached double digits or had more than five rebounds.
- The Seawolves were led by Nick Klarman's 23 points. Wesley Gilbert added 20 points. Isaac Davidson scored a dozen points and Michael Smith chipped in 10 points.
- Sonoma State is 4-1 when shooting .450 or before from distance. On Saturday, they went 10-of-21 (47.6 percent). The Gators are 1-5 when allowing teams to shoot .450 or better from distance.
The Gators jumped out to a 19-2 lead in the two teams' first meeting but the Seawolves jumped out to a 6-0 lead this time thanks to a pair of three-pointers. Acliese tied the game with a three ball of his own and gave SF State its first lead, 10-8, with another bucket at the 15-minute mark. The Seawolves answered with an 8-1 run and the Gators found themselves playing catchup.
Jase Wickliffe pulled the Gators back to within two at the eight-minute mark and SF State had a chance to tie the game a minute later. However,
Tyler Jackson only made his second free throw and the Seawolves hit a couple more threes to remain in front. Acliese hit back-to-back buckets that tied the game at 28-28 but it was the Seawolves who took a 36-34 lead into halftime.
Sonoma State built its lead to seven in the second half but the Gators evened the score yet again around the 15-minute mark. With 10:38 to go, the Gators took the lead on another Jackson free throw and
Sean Orr followed that up with a three-pointer. Up one, the Gators missed a three-pointer and came up with the offensive board but missed another attempt from deep. Gilbert hit back-to-back jumpers at the other end and Sonoma State led 59-57.
Jacob Huynh put SF State in front with a three-pointer but Klarman nailed another three and Tej Johnson tacked on a pair of free throws, followed by a Davidson layup. That put the Seawolves up six with under six to play. The deficit grew to as large as 11 down the stretch.
The Gators host Humboldt State on Thursday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. That game is Spirit Night and the first 500 fans in attendance to that night's doubleheader will receive a free SF State Athletics T-shirt. The doubleheader with will be streamed on the
CCAA Network and live stats will also be available at
sfstategators.com.
Next week is also the CCAA Food Drive. Fans are asked to support the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's initiative by bringing non-perishable food items to Thursday's men's and women's basketball doubleheader vs. Humboldt State. Items will be donated to the SF-Marin Food Bank.
