CARSON, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team will now need some help getting to the postseason after the Gators fell on the road 67-56 at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday night inside the Torodome.
- Entering the weekend, the Gators controlled their own destiny. However, SF State has now lost three straight and will need help from Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday vs. Cal Poly Pomona. The Gators remain in sixth place but will need to win the head-to-head matchup vs. the Broncos on Saturday. The top six teams will converge on Arcata for the CCAA Basketball Tournament, March 3-5.
- The Gators slip to 11-14 overall and have a .444 (8-10) winning percentage in CCAA play. This year, due to the pandemic, standings are being determined by winning percentage. Cal State Dominguez Hills improves to 13-8 overall. The fifth-place Toros are now 10-5 in CCAA play and can finish with no lower than a .588 winning percentage, punching their ticket to the CCAA Tournament.
- SF State was held to 30.3 percent (20-of-66) shooting from the field, their second lowest output of the season. The team's shooting woes come at an inopportune time. The Gators' lowest output of the season came in Thursday's loss at Cal State East Bay (29.8 percent)
- Sean Orr and Eche Okeke led the Gators with 11 points apiece. Orr had nine first-half points and reached double digits with nine minutes remaining. Orr also pulled down eight rebounds. Okeke had seven rebounds and three steals.
- Devon Jackson finished with 10 points on Saturday, setting a new career-high after posting a career-high in Thursday's loss.
- Jacob Huynh added nine points on three three-pointers.
- Jalen Flanagan added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds in the loss.
- David Cheatom led all players with 18 points and Colten Kresl added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Toros.
Orr scored the game's first basket and the Toros grabbed their first lead on a Kresl three-pointer a little before the 16-minute mark. Huynh's first three of the night put the Gators back in front and another three-ball a minute later kept the Gators out in front. SF State's lead held until the 11-minute mark when the Toros took the lead thanks to a six-point run. Jackson hit a three to put the Gators back up. That lead held until the eight-minute mark when Chris Seeley's three-pointer gave the Toros a 21-20 advantage. From there, the deficit grew to 32-25 at the half.
The Toros started the second half on a 5-0 run to take a double-digit lead. The Gators cut the lead to seven but couldn't put together a larger run. The deficit grew back to double digits, though a Jackson layup cut the lead back to seven inside the two-minute mark. Jackson came up with a steal and a second-chance bucket for the Gators pulled them to within five. However, with time winding down, the Gators were forced to foul and the Toros went 9-of-12 at the free throw line down the stretch. The Toros had gone just 6-of-11 at the line up until the final two minutes.
San Francisco State's season comes down to the final two home games. The Gators host No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, February 26 at 3 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.
