BOX SCORE HIGHLIGHTS COURTESY OF YSN365.com

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- Behind a spirited crowd of 1,232 fans at The Wolves' Den on Friday night, the Sonoma State men's basketball team earned the right to host the first round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament after overcoming an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to defeat visiting UC San Diego, 70-68.  The Seawolves (16-10, 14-8 CCAA), as the No. 4 seed in the eight-team single-elimination tournament, will host No. 5 seed Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday (Feb. 28) at 7:30 p.m. in The Wolves' Den.  The Tritons see their season come to an end at 10-17 overall, finishing 11th in the conference standings at 6-16.

After Tuesday's first round game, the tournament then shifts to RIMAC Arena on the campus of UC San Diego in La Jolla for the semifinals and finals on Mar. 2-3, regardless of Tuesday's first round outcomes at campus sites.  The complete tournament field will be announced by the conference office on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.  Ticket information for Tuesday's game against Cal State San Bernardino will also be available at that time.  Stay tuned to sonomaseawolves.com for the most up-to-date information as it becomes available.

It was an evenly matched game between the two teams on Friday night; both teams had nearly identical stat lines.  Although it featured only seven ties and six lead changes, the game was relatively close for the majority of the night.  It was Sonoma State to sprint out to a 10-point lead, the largest of the night for both teams.  That came late in the first half after a pair of free throws by Patrick Scott put the Seawolves up 34-24 with 3:03 left before halftime.

The teams would trade points on several possessions and the lead remained at 10 points with 37 seconds left, thanks to a dunk by Justin Herold.  However, UC San Diego would strike back with a pair of free throws and a layup to close the gap to just six at the intermission, 38-32, with Sonoma State still in charge.  It was the Herold and Pratt show, as the two combined for 26 of the team's 38 points in the opening period, both scoring 13 points.  The Seawolves had the hot hand from the floor as well, connecting on 13 of their 20 shots, sporting a 65.0 percent mark.  SSU also spent some time at the free throw line, making 10 of the 17 attempted, just in the first half alone.  UCSD was held to just 39.3 percent from the floor on 11 of 28 shooting.

The Tritons seemed to carry the momentum of scoring the last four points of the first half into the second, taking the lead at the 16:52 mark, then again at 13:21.  UC San Diego remained in control and eventually extended its lead to as much as eight points at 64-56 with 5:08 to play in regulation.

Sonoma State began to chip away at the deficit, getting to with two points after a three-pointer by Will Olsem at 3:29.  Both squads traded a pair of free throws at each others end of the floor with two minutes to play.  With 1:40 left, Patrick Scott slashed through the lane and knotted the game at 68-68.  With full court pressure by the Seawolves on the ensuing inbounds play, the Tritons would throw the ball right to Scott and SSU would hold possession with 1:23 left on the game clock.

A three-point shot by Olsem banged off the iron and UC San Diego would corral the rebound and call time out.  Following the time out, UCSD's Tyler McGrath threw up a three-pointer with 43 ticks left on the clock, but missed and Scott grabbed the board and SSU would hold possession, call time out and draw up a play with 31 seconds on the game clock and 27 seconds on the shot clock.

Out of the time out, Sonoma State would put the ball in Pratt's hands and, with 6.4 seconds left on the clock, Pratt was fouled on his layup attempt underneath the basket, putting one of the program's all-time best free throw shooter on the line.  As cool and calm as his demeanor, Pratt hit both free throws to give the Seawolves the 70-68 lead.  With all 1,232 fans on their feet, UC San Diego took the ball the length of the floor, but the Matt Bailey's pass from midcourt towards the baseline was intercepted by Herold and time expired, sending the team and Seawolf fans into a frenzied celebration.

It capped off an incredible performance by Pratt, who dropped in a game-high 22 points on Senior Night on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor and 8 or 9 from the free throw line.  Sterling Arterberry and Herold both added 13 points each and Olsem netted 10 points.  For the game, Sonoma State went 51.2 percent from the hardwood on 22 of 43 shooting.

UC San Diego was led by the 19 points of McGrath.  James McCann added 13 points and Christian Hatch dropped in 10 points with a team-high eight rebounds.

Fourth-seeded Sonoma State will host fifth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino on Tuesday in the first round of the CCAA tournament.  Tipoff from The Wolves' Den is set for 7:30 p.m.  As mentioned above, ticket information will be announced by the conference office at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, but tickets are expected to go on sale on Monday.

Stay tuned to sonomaseawolves.com over the weekend for up-to-date information regarding the 2012 CCAA Basketball Championship Tournament.

Highlights courtesy of YSN365.com

UC San Diego vs SSU, 2-24-12 from ysn365 on Vimeo.