Staats' 21-Point Effort Not Enough in 76-75 Heartbreaking Loss at Sonoma State

Box Score

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- Junior John Staats poured in 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc, but Sonoma State's Steven Pratt did Staats two better with 23 of his own as the host Seawolves sank 15-of-20 free throws after the break, including the final two by Pratt with two ticks left in the game, in their 76-75 nail-biter over the Toros.

The hosts jumped out to an early 11-3 lead in the game's first three minutes before Staats' long-range acumen brought life into the Toros, cutting SSU's lead to 16-12 on his first of five triples on the night. The Seawolves again increased their edge to as much as nine at 27-18, before a triple by Jamel Ward and two Staat buckets, one of which came from downtown, trimmed the lead to 27-26 with 6:11 left in the half.

A pair of Staat free throws a minute and a half later gave the Toros their first lead of the game at 28-27, but the Seawolves used a 12-10 edge over the final five minutes of the half to take a 39-38 lead entering the break.

SSU again got a quick start as it pushed its lead to 54-47 with just over 13 minutes left in regulation, before the Toros again found their shooting touch, eventually regaining the advantage with 5:40 remaining in the game on a Stephen Faulkner layup, and increasing the edge to 73-69 on another lay-in, this time by Zareh Zargaryan with just 1:48 remaining.

Pratt, however, willed his team back after an old-fashioned 3-point play brought SSU to within one, and after the two teams exchanged buckets, two missed Toro foul shots and a subsequent CSUDH foul with two seconds left sent Pratt to the line, where he sank his freebies for the win.

Ward added 16 points for the Toros, who shot 43.9% from the field, while Jason Walter's 15 points contributed in SSU's victory and 52.3% shooting. CSUDH out-rebounded SSU, but the hosts' four more makes at the line was just enough in the one-point win.

CSUDH, winless at 0-3, 0-1 CCAA, travel to Arcata to face Humboldt State on Saturday, December 5, with first tip set for 7:30 pm.

Print Friendly Version