SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's basketball team used a big first half to keep a lead over Cal State East Bay and take a 74-62 victory at home over the Pioneers. The Gators shot 48.2 percent from the field to take a 16 point lead going into halftime.
- The Gators improve to 6-8 overall and sit in sixth place at 4-4 in CCAA play. The Pioneers fall to 3-10 and 1-6 CCAA action.
- Travis August had a game high 20 points for the Gators and only turned the ball over once. He shot 5-for-11 from three, giving him a second game this season with five threes.
- Jacob Huynh matched a career best with seven assists.
- Toby Okwuokei had 14 points to go with six rebounds and two steals.
- East Bay held the edge on the boards at 45-37.
- DJ Sanders had 14 points to lead the Pioneers.
After a tight back-and-force contest through the first couple minutes of the first half, the Gators used a 12-0 scoring run to take a 21-11 lead with 12:06 left in the half. Both teams went cold for the next three and a half minutes with a made free throw from Okwuokei the only point scored during that time frame. Okwuokei's layup at 8:26 broke the ice and sparked the Gator offense. SF State led by as much as 21 points and took a 43-27 lead going into halftime.
The Gators, who held the Pioneers to 1-for-11 from three in the first half, allowed three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes. East Bay came with 11 points with 10:43 left in the game. Back-to-back threes from August proved to be the momentum moment as the Gators would hold a double digit lead the rest of the way.
"We really executed on both sides of the ball in the first half," said Head Coach Vince Inglima. "Tonight was the best we applied the game plan all season. East Bay played well in the second half, but we found a way to hold our lead. Feels good to sweep the weekend to start this home stand!"
San Francisco State will play a non-conference game versus UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday, January 18 at 7 p.m. The games will be broadcast on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. Updates will also be available on Twitter at @sfstate_mbb.
