HILO, Hawaii — The San Francisco State men's basketball team held off a late push by Concordia Nebraska and won its first game in the Big Island Holiday Classic hosted by Hawai'i Hilo, 74-73, in Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium on Sunday evening.
- The Gators improved to 6-4 while Concordia snaps a four-game winning streak and slips to 7-3.
- Jailen Daniel-Dalton led SF State with 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 3-of-5 shooting from deep. The junior forward notched his fourth double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds, which also matched his season-high.
- Tyjean Burrell added a dozen points and Caleb Oden scored 11 points in the victory. Jake Paxton scored nine points, all in the first half, and Devon Jackson scored eight points in 11 minutes of action.
- Tristan Smith led all players with 24 points and also led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds.
- Noah Schutte added 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the loss.
- Concordia held a slight 42-38 rebounding advantage.
- Notably, SF State built a seven-point halftime lead thanks to 9-of-20 (45 percent) shooting from deep. Defensively, the Gators forced nine turnovers and converted those into 14 points.
The game was tight early. Tied 16-16 with 10:35 to go in the half,
Alex Gilat flipped the ball to Paxton and set a screen, which allowed Paxton to bury an open three. A couple of possessions later,
John Bakke hit a a jumper to make it a five-point lead. Oden hit a couple of three-pointers before the half and the Gators took a 40-33 lead into the break.
SF State started the second half with a stop and a
Jonah Roth hook shot at the other end, then another stop and a tough finish by Oden that pushed the lead to 11. CUNE trimmed the lead to one possession with 10:30 to go but the Gators got a steal and Daniel-Dalton got his own rebound, which led to a Paxton corner three from Gilat.
Daniel-Dalton went inside and got a ball to rim in to keep the Gators up four, then shook a defender and hit a three-pointer in transition to push the lead back to seven. Smith tipped it in at the other end but Daniel-Dalton answered with a dunk and grabbed a defensive rebound, and Bakke put back a Burrell missed three to make it 69-60 with 5:27 to go. A Burrell free throw with 4:32 to go pushed the lead back to double digits. Still, the Bulldogs kept coming. Schutte capped a 10-2 run with a layup with 1:19 to go that cut the lead to two. Burrell kept the Gators in front with a step back jumper at the left elbow but Schutte immediately answered with a drive down the left side for a three-point play. The Bulldogs were forced to foul but both Oden and Cooks missed 1-and-1 attempts.
Daniel-Dalton was called for a blocking foul on Schutte with 3.1 seconds to go. Smith missed both free throws. Daniel-Dalton grabbed the rebound and was fouled with two seconds to go to secure the win.
The Gators' next opponent in the Big Island Holiday Classic hosted by Hawai'i Hilo is Alaska Fairbanks on Monday, December 18 at 4 p.m. HST/6 p.m. PT. The Nanooks overcame a first-half deficit to top host UH Hilo 64-61 in overtime. For more information on the tournament, including links to live video and tickets, visit HiloAthletics.com/BIC. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com with updates also available on X at @sfstate_mbb.
