SAN FRANCISCO — Tyjean Burrell's three-point shooting sparked the San Francisco State men's basketball team to a 60-52 victory over Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday afternoon inside the Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
- SF State improves to 15-12 overall and back into a three-way tie for sixth place in the CCAA with Cal State San Marcos and Sonoma State at 9-10. The final berth to the CCAA Tournament will be decided over the next week and a half and is likely one of those three teams, as all three play one another.
- Cal Poly Pomona's playoff chances are nearly extinguished as they fall to 8-15 overall and 7-12 in CCAA play.
- Burrell led all players with 18 points and seven rebounds, with 13 of those points came in the second half. The Gators guard made five of the team's eight three-pointers, and missed just once from deep. Burrell has now made five three pointers in a game three different times this season.
- CJ Bellamy finished with a dozen points and Devon Jackson added 10 points in a starting role.
- Chris Gayles Jr. led the Broncos with 12 points. Jaden Winfield chipped in 10 points in the loss.
- SF State shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the field. A game after suffering their worst three-point performance of the year, SF State drained timely three after timely three and finished 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from three-point range.
- The Gators limited Cal Poly Pomona to 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the field and to just 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from deep. The Broncos didn't help themselves at the free throw line, where they shot just 47.4 percent (9-of-19).
- SF State edged out the Broncos in the rebounding battle, 40-38.
- The Broncos did hold the advantage in the paint, where they outscored the Gators 28-16.
Jonah Roth's hook shot put the Gators on the scoreboard first. Brandon Porter tied the game at 4-4 but the scorer's table noted that he was wearing No. 34 instead of his regular 23, which resulted in an administrative technical. The Gators retook the lead on a free throw, although the Broncos did regain the lead right back. CPP grew its lead to 10 at the 14-minute mark and the Gators spent the rest of the half playing catch-up. Still down a dozen with less than five to go in the half, the Gators went on a 13-3 run that erased the deficit as the Broncos went without a field goal. Bellamy hit his second three-pointer of the half with 34 seconds to tie the game at 25-25.
The game was still tied with 13:55 to go in the second half after a Winfield layup made it 34-34. The Gators took the lead 40 seconds later when
Jonah Roth put back his own miss and the Gators never looked back. Bakke added a free throw and Burrell hit a couple of three-pointers around a Gayles Jr. layup that found the Gators up 43-36. Another Bakke free throw and another Burrell three-ball pushed the lead to 11 and forced the Broncos to call timeout with 8:53 to go. CPP pulled to within five on back-to-back Broncos buckets and made it a one-possession game with Bam Johnson's three-pointer with just over a minute to go. However, the Gators made five of six free throws in the final minute to ice the game.
The Gators host two very important CCAA matchups next week. They host Sonoma State on Thursday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, February 24 at 3 p.m., which is also Senior Day. Fans can stream the games live on the CCAA Network. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com with updates also available on X at @sfstate_mbb. Tickets for home games are available at sfstategators.com/tickets. Thursday is also part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's (SAAC) Basic Needs Drive, where fans are encouraged to donate non-perishable food items and other essential items.
