SEASIDE, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team opened 2022 with a 75-74 loss to Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday afternoon at the Kelp Bed.
- The Gators slip to 4-8 overall and 2-4 in CCAA play while the Otters improve to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in CCAA action, which is third in the CCAA.
- SF State outshot the Otters 47.6 percent (30-of-63) to 40.9 percent (27-of-66) but CSUMB made 13 three-pointers while the Gators made just three from deep.
- The difference came down to three-point shooting. After shooting just 22.2 percent (4-of-18) in the first half, the Otters shot 53.8 percent (7-of-13) in the second half. Meanwhile the Gators didn't register a made three (0-for-8) in the second half and finished 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from behind the arc.
- Five Gators scored in double digits, led by Sean Orr's 20 points. Toby Okwuokei and Jalen Chandler scored 14 points apiece. Eche Okeke scored 11 points and Mikey Robinson Jr. added a career-high 10 points.
- The Otters also had five players in double figures. Jordan May, who led all players with a season-high 26 points, in the two teams' last meeting, finished with 20 points. Noah Stapes added 15 points, Levi Frankland added a dozen points again, and Andrew Ferguson and Jailen Nelson each added 10 points apiece yet again. Kyle Johnson led all players with 14 rebounds.
The first half was close until around the eight-minute mark when the Otters used a 6-0 run to take a five-point lead. At the same time the Otters were finding a rhythm, the Gators struggled offensively, going 1-of-8 over a three-minute span. However, SF State responded with an 8-1 run and tied the game at 31-31 with under four minutes to go. The Gators grabbed the lead at the two-minute mark on a Robinson, Jr. three-pointer and Okwuokei's layup with three seconds left sent the Gators into the break with a 42-38 lead.
The Gators opened the second half 5-of-11 and quickly grew the lead to 10 on Okwuokei's coast-to-coast layup. However, the Otters erased the lead nearly as quickly with an 11-0 run and took the lead, 54-53, on Kyle Johnson's dunk. Robinson Jr. stopped the Otters run with a layup but CSUMB piled on. The Otters used a 28-8 run to turn the tables and take a 71-61 lead. However, the Gators held the Otters scoreless over the next three minutes and went on another 10-0 run to tie the game at 71-71 with 1:16 to go. Okeke gave the Gators the lead once again with a layup inside a minute and
Jacob Huynh made the first of two free throws to give the Gators a three-point lead. However, Frankland single-handedly won the game for the Otters in the final seconds. He made a pair of free throws that pulled CSUMB within one, then hit a transition pull-up midrange jumper with 2.5 seconds left. The Gators had the ball stolen on the in-bounds and did not get a final shot off.
San Francisco State is scheduled to take a two-game road trip to Cal Poly Pomona and No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino on January 6 and 8. Both 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.
