FRESNO, Calif. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team used a big second half at both ends of the floor to mount a 61-50 comeback over host Fresno Pacific on Wednesday night in the Special Events Center.
- The Gators trailed 32-26 at the half but surged in the second half. The Gators shot 54.6 percent (12-of-22) over the final 20 minutes and outscored the Sunbirds 61-50. SF State held FPU to 25 percent (7-of-28) in the second half, including 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from deep. The Sunbirds shot just 32.1 percent (17-of-53) for the game.
- With the win, SF State improves to 2-1 on the young season while FPU remains in search of its first win at 0-3.
- Donovan Cooks led all players with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The freshman guard knocked down a pair of three-pointers and was 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He also had a pair of steals and grabbed a rebound.
- Tyjean Burrell and Jailen Daniel-Dalton added 10 points apiece in the victory. CJ Bellamy chipped in seven points and a game-high three assists.
- Miguel Yniguez's first career point came at the free throw line. The redshirt freshman went 1-of-2 at the free throw line and grabbed four rebounds.
- Gabriel Quiette led the Sunbirds with 11 points. Harrison Pennisi added 10 points in the loss.
- The Gators won the rebounding battle 32-25. Caleb Oden led SF State with five boards. Pennisi and Ryan Abbott each also had five apiece for the Sunbirds.
SF State trailed 4-0 early and went down as much as 10 inside four minutes of the first half. The Yniguez free throw and a Cooks jumper in the paint cut the lead to four with under a minute to go in the half but Issac Peralta got a steal and a layup, then a block at the defensive end to send the Sunbirds into the locker room with a six-point lead.
FPU pushed its lead back to nine early in the second half but the Gators chipped away. Cooks had a three-point play and three minutes later
Alex Gilat buried a three-pointer that kept the Gators down by five. A Burrell three-pointer cut the lead to two and a Bellamy steal led to a
John Bakke layup that tied the game at 41-41 with 10:49 to go. Burrell got to the free throw line to give the Gators the lead at the 10-minute mark, and another Cooks three-point play made it a five-point SF State advantage. FPU cut the Gators lead to one but SF State answered with a 7-1 run capped by a Daniel-Dalton three-pointer that put SF State up by eight with 5:20 to go.
Devon Jackson went coast-to-coast for a double-digit lead with 2:41 to go. Free throws helped the lead grow to as large as 14 before Quiette hit a three in the final seconds.
The Gators host another PacWest opponent – and the conference's newest member – Westmont, on Saturday, November 18 at 3 p.m. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com with updates also available on X at @sfstate_mbb, and fans can stream the game live on the CCAA Network. Tickets are available at sfstategators.com/tickets.
