• Boxscore & Play-by-Play
CHICO, Calif. –
Jobi Wall led all scorers with 20 points Friday and hit three 3-pointers during a late rally that fell short for seventh-ranked Seattle Pacific, which suffered its first loss 60-55 against San Francisco State in the Mac Martin Invitational.
The Falcons (4-1) were unable to overcome subpar shooting and 18 turnovers, 10 of which were forced by San Francisco (1-2) steals.
SPU trailed 48-39 inside the final seven minutes before Wall ignited a comeback with a trio of treys that cut the margin to 50-48 with 5:08 left to play. Six of Wall's seven baskets during the game came from 3-point range.
After James Albright made a trey for the Gators,
David Downs answered with a 3-pointer that again brought SPU within two points, at 53-51 with 4:27 remaining.
That was the fourth consecutive 3-pointer for the Falcons, who made only 4 of 21 treys earlier.
SFSU's Robbie Herndon sandwiched a 3-pointer and layup around a free throw by the Falcons
Andy Poling, extending the lead to six points.
Ryan Todd drew SPU within 58-55 on a shot behind the arc with 0:22 on the clock.
But Calvin Otiono secured the Gators win on a pair of three throws with 13 seconds to play.
Poling (Portland, Ore.), a 6-foot-11 senior center, was SPU's only other double-digit scorer with 13 points. The Falcons shot 38 percent (20 of 53) from the floor, including 9-for-28 accuracy on treys. They made just 6 of 14 free throws.
“What they did defensively disrupted us a little bit,” said SPU coach
Ryan Looney. “At the end of the day we shot a terrible percent both from the floor and the free throw line. It's tough to win like that, especially with that many turnovers.”
Albright finished with 14 points to pace the Gators, who also got 13 apiece from Herndon and Decensae White. SFSU shot 42 percent (22 of 53) from the floor while hitting 5 of 14 treys and 11 of 14 free throws.
In the first half, Wall nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to forge the Falcons largest lead at 10-7 with 16:31 left in the period. SFSU scored the next nine points to take the lead for good.
“He helped us a lot tonight,” Looney said of Wall, a senior forward from Arvada, Colo.
“But in all reality we need some more balance on offense. We settled for way too many jumpers.”
The taller Falcons were outscored 32-16 on points-in-the-paint.
The SPU men conclude the tournament Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. game against the host, No. 16 Chico State. That clash of ranked NCAA Division II teams will be played at the same Acker Gymnasium venue where SPU played Friday.
Looney doesn't have much time for his team to regroup after its initial setback and prepare for a difficult opponent on the road the next night.
“It's going to be extremely tough. We know that is will definitely be a big challenge, they are a very good team. We had to play guys a lot of minutes tonight so hopefully we can fight fatigue tomorrow night.”
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday, Nov. 23, 2012
Acker Gymnasium/Chico, Calif.
San Francisco State 60, (#7) Seattle Pacific 55
SAN FRANCISCO STATE (1-2)
Otiono 2-6 2-2 6, Albright 5-8 4-4 14, White 5-14 2-4 13, Herndon 5-10 1-2 13, Overton 3-7 2-2 8, Demmin 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 2-6 0-0 6, Austria 0-0 0-0 0, Fodor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 11-14 60.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-1)
Wall 7-16 0-0 20, Simon 2-9 2-3 6, Poling 7-16 0-0 13, Downs 3-7 0-0 8, Stockton 1-3 0-2 2, Carroll 0-1 0-0 0, Todd 1-1 0-0 3, Morse 0-4 0-0 0, Hutsen 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 20-53 6-14 55.
San Francisco State.... 32 28 - 60
Seattle Pacific........ 26 29 - 55
3-point goals—SFSU 5-14 (Jones 2-3, Herndon 2-4, White 1-3, Albright 0-1, Overton 0-3), SPU 9-28 (Wall 6-14, Downs 2-5, Todd 1-1, Stockton 0-2, Morse 0-3, Simon 0-3). Fouled out-SFSU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds—SFSU 30 (White 10), SPU 38 (Simon, Stockton 8). Assists—SFSU 12 (Otiono 4), SPU 17 (Stockton 8). Total fouls—SFSU 17, SPU 16. Technical fouls—SFSU-None, SPU-None. A-169.
Next men's basketball game
(#7) Seattle Pacific at (#16) Chico State
Saturday, Nov. 24, 7:30 p.m. PST
Acker Gymnasium/Chico, Calif.
