SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco State men's basketball team fought hard against Fresno Pacific in the CCAA/PacWest Classic Opener on Friday but fell to the Sunbirds, 64-63.

By the Numbers

• The Gators move to 2-3 on the year while Fresno Pacific goes to 2-3.
• SF State had three players in double figures, led by John Bakke's 16. Tyjean Burrell had 15 points and Caleb Oden had 13. Bakke added eight rebounds and five assists, while Oden had four steals.
• The back-and-forth contest had five ties and each team had five lead changes. SF State led for nearly 24 minutes.

How It Happened

Burrell hit a three 15 seconds in off an assist from Bakke, and Oden hit back-to-back baskets for SF State to tie things up at eight. The Gators utilized an 8-0 run to go up 16-10 midway through the half. Burrell's setback three with 8:31 left and Bakke's subsequent jumper made it a five-point lead, and the back-and-forth continued with Fresno Pacific hitting a three with under a minute left to cut into the Gator lead, 32-29 at the half.

SF State pushed its lead to 44-37 on Oden's free throw, but the Sunbirds were able to go ahead 46-44 following a 9-0 run capped off by Jonah Geron's three-pointer with 11:58 left. Both teams traded layups and free throws down the stretch. A free throw gave Fresno Pacific a 58-53 advantage at 4:27 before Alex Gilat hit a three to cut it to two. Trailing 63-59, Caden Flowers nailed a clutch three-pointer with eight seconds left. SF State then fouled Isaac Peralta, who made one free throw as SF State was now down two with six seconds remaining. Burrell got the inbound and drew the foul driving to the basket with .9 seconds left. The redshirt senior made the first but hit the front on the rim on the second and the Sunbirds walked away with the 64-62 victory.

Up Next

The Gators continue the tournament on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. versus Menlo.  Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com, and fans can tune in to the action on FloCollege.