SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco State men's basketball team came back from a deficit and stayed close with Vanguard in the first part of the second half but went cold in the final eight minutes and fell 72-61.

 

By the Numbers

 
 

• The Gators fall to 0-3 while Vanguard improves to 3-1.
• Bricen Buciak led the Gators with 15 points. Fed Pernell chipped in 13 points.
• Vanguard held a 45 to 28 advantage on rebounds.
• The Gators only got 14 points from the bench while Vanguard had 26.

How It Happened

The Gators stayed within two possessions early in the game. Up by four, Vanguard scored seven unanswered points to lead 35-24 with 6:50 to go. Buciak responded with a layup to get the Gators back into it. Fed Pernell shot a three and made a basket plus the and-one on the next possession to make it a three point game. Milandev Chatha scored on the next possession to make it a 39-38 game with 42 seconds left. Vanguard's Erik Howlin was fouled and made the first shot at the line. He missed the second shot and Vanguard grabbed the board and scored to take a 42-38 lead in the second half. 

SF State took its first lead of the second half when Brandon Lucas scored on a corner three to put the Gators up 49-48 with 14:14 remaining. Chatha's bucket and one put the Gators up 59-58 but the Gators would not score a field goal the rest of the game and Vanguard retook the lead and pulled away late.

Up Next

 The Gators have a busy holiday week and will travel to Sacramento State on November 25 for an exhibition game at 7:00 p.m. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com.