SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Three Gators were in double figures as the San Francisco State men's basketball team defeated host Westmont College, 71-69 on Thursday night.
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- SF State goes to 2-1 on the year while the Warriors drop to 0-3.
- The Gators shot 36.4 percent (4-11) from deep in the first, and held the Warriors to just 10 percent (1-10) from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. SF State would go on to hit seven threes, and have made seven-or-more triples in every game this season.
- SF State held the Warriors to 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from beyond the arc, the lowest mark by a Gator opponent since Jan. 25, 2024 (14 games) when Stanislaus State went 13.8 percent (4-of-29) from deep.
- Tyjean Burrell had 14 points on 5-of-12 (61.7 percent) shooting, and has hit double-digit scoring in all three games this season.
- Caleb Oden had 10 points and seven rebounds, John Bakke had 12 points, six boards and four assists.
- SF State out-rebounded Westmont, 33-23, 22 of which came on the defensive end. The 33 boards ties a season high for the Gators.
Pearse Uniacke's dunk got SF State's scoring started in the first. Burrell's layup pushed the lead to 8-2, and Caden Flowers answered a Westmont bucket with a triple to give the Gators an 11-4 advantage. A pair of Alex Gilat three-pointers bookended a 10-3 SF State run with under ten minutes left in the half as SF State saw a 23-15 lead. The hosts answered with eight-straight points to tie things up at 25-all with under four minutes to go. CJ Bellamy closed out the first half with a three-pointer off a dish from Bakke as SF State entered the half up 32-26.
The Gators continued to roll with 10-straight points to start the second half, headlined by Burrell's three-pointer off another assist from Bakke. Alec Smith's layup off a nice pass from Burrell put SF State up 47-32.The defense continued to hold Westmont at bay from three-point range, with the hosts only going 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) from deep through the first 30 minutes. Burrell's fifth field goal of the evening gave the Gators a 53-35 lead, their largest of the night. Flowers dropped in a transition three with just under seven left to put SF State up 60-44. Six consecutive Westmont free-throws cut it to 66-59, and after Smith's layup the hosts got a three-pointer from Adrian McIntyre as the score was now 68-64 with 2:22 left. McIntyre drained another three to make it a one-point game the following possession, but Bakke's driving layup put the Gators back up by three. McIntyre drew a blocking foul with 32 seconds left and made both free throws to make it a one-point game once again, but Oden made one-of-two from the line to give SF State a 71-69 lead with three seconds left and seal the road win.
The Gators wrap up the roadtrip at Vanguard on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.. Live stats and video will be available at VanguardLions.com.
