SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco State men's basketball team could not have started 2026 any better as the Gators picked up a huge conference win over RV Cal Poly Pomona 74-73.
- SF State picks up its first conference win of the season and improves to 2-9 and 1-4 in conference. Cal Poly Pomona falls to 8-3 and
- Parsa Hadjighasemi had a career day, leading the team with 19 points and scoring six three-pointers. Hadjighasemi became the first player to score six or more 3-pointers since Jalen Chandler did it against Santa Cruz on Jan 18, 2021.
- Bricen Buciak recorded his first double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
- The Gators had a season-high 17 assists with Markees Williams and Miles Pollard each dishing out five.
- The Bronco's Malcolm Bell led the way for Pomona with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
The Gators started the game cold, trailing by as much as ten early on. Brandon Lucas scored a corner three with 12:15 remaining and Hadjighasemi got hot with three straight three-point baskets to give the Gators their first lead of the game at 22-21. SF State had a five-point lead at the under four minute media timeout but a couple of costly turnovers allowed the Broncos to keep it a one-possession game. The Gators held a slim 36-35 lead heading into halftime.
The Broncos instantly retook the lead to open the second half and led 45-39 at 17:12 on the clock. The Gators fought back and used a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead. Trailing by five with a little over three minutes, to go, Hadjighasemi brought the Gators back within two with another three and Williams scored on a fast break basket off a turnover to tie the game. Williams gave the Gators the 72-70 lead with 28 seconds remaining. Evan McKnight fouled Bell and sent him to the line on the next possession. Bell made the first basket and missed the second but corralled the rebound and made the put-back. With time winding down, Pollard put up a shot and drew a foul to go to the line. He made both baskets to reclaim the lead with 1.2 seconds. The Broncos sailed the ball down the court but time ran out before they could get a shot off.
The Gators have a rare Sunday conference match-up with Cal State San Bernardino on Jan 4 at 3 p.m. Live stats will be available at sfstategators.com and fans can watch at home on FloCollege.
