SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State men's basketball team dominated the glass and got to the free throw consistently in a 64-62 upset of visiting Cal State San Marcos on Saturday afternoon inside the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- Saturday was a big win for the Gators, who move back to .500 (11-11) and to 7-9 in CCAA play, putting them a half game out of sixth place. The second-place Cougars, the top team in the West Region a season ago, slip to 13-8 overall and 12-4 in conference play.
- Jalen Flanagan led all players with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line.
- Eche Okeke added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and earned his fifth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Caleb Oden and Jonah Roth each added eight points apiece.
- Greg Milton III led the Cougars with 15 points but on just 5-of-17 shooting. Quinn Denker and Joel Mensah each added a dozen points in the loss.
- SF State's rebounding dominance was the difference. Eight different Gators grabbed a board as SF State outrebounded the Cougars 46-27.
- The Gators reached the free throw line 18 and made 15, compared to just 5-of-6 for CSUSM.
- At 41.1 percent (23-of-56), and despite a poor shooting night from deep (15.8 percent, 3-of-19), the Gators also outshot their opponents, though the Cougars had more attempts at 25-of-63 (39.7 percent).
SF State took a quick 4-0 lead and led 11-4 but the Cougars chipped away and tied the game at 15-15, then took the lead 17-16 on Denker's three-pointer with 7:30 to go. SF state briefly regained the lead but the Cougars finished the half on a 7-2 run and went into the locker room with a 27-24 advantage.
The Gators came out firing in the second half and regained the lead with a 5-0 run. Roth buried a three on the opening possession to tie it and Flanagan got to the rim for a couple of layups and an and-one for a five-point Gators lead. The Cougars knotted the game back at 37-37 and the game was tight the rest of the way. CSUSM went up by six but the Gators tied it again at 45-45, only to fall behind by five again. The Gators eventually took a 55-54 lead on a third-chance putback by Okeke. Flanagan kept the Gators ahead with a layup inside the two-minute mark.
With the Gators up four and under a minute to go, the Cougars lost the ball in transition out of bounds with 43.7 seconds remaining. CSUSM was forced to foul with 29.1 seconds remaining. Jake Paxton missed the free throw but the Cougars rushed another possession and Mensah missed a jumper in the key. Oden came away with the rebound and was immediately fouled, then made both free throws. Milton drew an and-one to pull the Cougars to within three. Paxton was fouled with 10.8 seconds and made both. Denker made a three from in front of the Cougars bench as time expired but the Gators hung on.
The Gators play their next four games on the road, beginning Thursday, Feburary 9 at Cal Poly Pomona (10-9/7-8 CCAA). The Gators are currently a half game behind the Broncos in the standings. That game will be broadcast on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. In-game updates will also available on Twitter at @sfstate_mbb. Tickets are on sale at sfstategators.com/tickets.
