SAN FRANCISCO — On Saturday afternoon, the San Francisco State men's basketball team staved off Westmont 76-69 in non-conference action inside the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- Saturday marked the first meeting of the two teams dating back to the 1997-98 season, when Westmont won that game in San Francisco after SF State had won the previous season. With Westmont joining the PacWest, those meetings should come a little more frequently now.
- The Gators move to 3-1 on the young season while the Warriors, who were picked to finish eighth out of 11 teams in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll, fall even to 2-2.
- Caleb Oden led all players with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Jonah Roth added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds. Jailen Daniel-Dalton scored a dozen points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Tyjean Burrell rounded out the Gators in double figures with 10 points.
- The Gators had four players in double digits for the first time since an overtime win versus Cal State East Bay last February 25. Three of those players are no longer on the team, and returner John Bakke had eight in Saturday's win.
- Westmont also had four players in double digits. Jarrett Bryant, Drew Ramirez, and Jalen Townsell all scored 11 points apiece while Anthony McIntyre had 10 points.
- Westmont brought the defensive pressure in the first half but the Gators found their rhythm in the second half and shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) from the field, plus 15 trips to the free throw line.
- Both teams had 25 defensive rebounds but the Warriors held a slight edge at the offensive end, 14-10.
Westmont jumped out to a 5-0 lead and the Gators trailed by four at the 12-minute media timeout. A pair of Bryant free throws grew the Warriors lead to half a dozen but the Gators responded. Back-to-back baskets from Bakke cut the lead to two, then he assisted on an Oden three-pointer that gave SF State a 19-18 lead. The teams traded the lead until the final minute when Roth had a layup and a pair of free throws for a 33-29 Gators halftime lead.
A Roth fastbreak layup with 16 minutes to go grew the second half lead to as large as 11. The Gators offense went cold over the next six minutes though as the Warriors used a 17-5 run to turn the tables for a 50-49 lead. Burrell got the lead right back with a potential three-point play but Westmont went up ahead of the eight-minute media timeout on a Townsell three-pointer. SF State grabbed the lead again two minutes later on an Oden bucket in the paint only to see Amir Davis give Westmont the lead back a minute later. Roth gave SF State the lead briefly but a Davis steal led to a Townsell fastbreak dunk that made it 68-67 with 2:08 to go. Tonwsell fouled Roth at the other end. The Gators had struggled from the line but Roth made both. Davis tied it at 69-69 with the front end of a pair of free throws but Daniel-Dalton gave the Gators the lead for good with a three-point play inside a minute to go. SF State added four more free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
The Gators host Pacific Union in a non-conference doubleheader with the SF State women on Wednesday, November 22. The women tip off at 5 p.m. followed by the men at 7 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.
