BOX SCORE ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- Total domination from start to finish. Made jump shots, three-pointers and free throws. Rebounds, assists, blocks, points in the paint -- not to mention seven monster dunks. Throw it all together, it was one of the biggest offensive showcases put on by the Sonoma State men's basketball team in its history, slamming Cal State East Bay, 96-63, on Saturday night in The Wolves' Den. The Seawolves are the hottest team in the CCAA, having won five straight games and 10 of their last 12 to improve to 12-8 overall and 10-6 in conference play. The Pioneers, meanwhile, leave Rohnert Park with records of 7-12 and 5-10.
It was the most points scored by Sonoma State since Jan. 29, 2009 when the team demolished Cal State Stanislaus, 98-57. However, the 96 points scored by the Seawolves on Saturday was the most at home since SSU defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 105-93, on Jan. 11, 2007.
The logjam continues at the top of the CCAA standings. Sonoma State is now tied for fifth with Cal State Dominguez Hills, one game out of a tie for first with Chico State, Humboldt State, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino which all sport 11-5 marks in conference action. Cal State L.A. (9-7) and Cal State Stanislaus (8-8) are not far behind in seventh and eighth place, respectively.
All eleven players to step foot on the floor found the basket, led by the career-high 24 points from
Jason Walter.
Justin Herold (18 points),
Will Olsem (17) and
Patrick Scott (11) netted double-figures, as did
Steven Pratt, but with 10 assists. Sonoma State torched the nets, hitting 30 of its 55 shots, good for 54.5 percent. As it has all season, the long range shot was finding its mark, too. Olsem led the assault from downtown, draining five of the 11 three-pointers he took as Walter added three from downtown. The rebounding was just as good; SSU snatched 49 rebounds from the air, including eight from both
Sterling Arterberry and Herold -- the Seawolves outrebounded the Pioneers, 49-35. Assists? Absolutely. 25 of Sonoma's 30 made shots were assisted. The dunks came at will, especially in the second half, some of which might have been worth some airtime -- literally -- on SportsCenter tonight.
It wasn't just the offense, but the Sonoma State defense held Cal State East Bay to just 26.7 percent from the floor (20-75), including a dismal 2 for 27 from three-point range. Mark Samuels led his squad with 17 points, followed by the 13 from the hands of Tre Mauldin.
As exciting as the game was, it also featured 61 free throws -- the Seawolves went 22 of 33 from the line and the Pioneers connected on 21 of their 28 attempts. Walter had 12 of SSU's attempts, hitting all but one of them.
It was a close game for the first couple of minutes until Sonoma opened up a 15-point lead (25-10) with 7:10 to play in the first half. It would eventually reach 20 points (41-21) at the 2:23 mark. Cal State East Bay wouldn't get any closer as the SSU lead reached 40 points, an 86-46 mark with just over four minutes left in the contest.
Sonoma State will host a pair of games next weekend, including "Pack The Den Night" on Thursday when the Seawolves host Cal State L.A. at 7:30 p.m. Cal State Dominguez Hills will then come to town two nights later on Saturday, starting again at 7:30 p.m. With four of its last six games at home, SSU will be pushing to reach the CCAA tournament for the third time in the past four seasons.
