Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team used a fantastic finish to pull out a thrilling win over San Francisco State.
The Golden Eagles got a game-winning basket from
Artis Gant with 1.6 seconds remaining and edged the Gators, 67-65, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest Saturday night in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (8-5, 3-3 CCAA) has won seven of its last eight games.
After San Francisco State (8-5, 2-4 CCAA) rallied from a 10-point deficit and tied the game on a basket by Martin Flores with 33 seconds left, the Golden Eagles called timeout and then worked for a final shot. With the game clock winding down, Gant scored on a driving layup to win it. San Francisco State called timeout, but a desperation inbound pass was knocked down by Cal State L.A.'s
Leland Jones as time ran out.
Chris Fields scored 16 points to lead the Golden Eagles, while
Tyler Polo had 11 points and five rebounds. Cal State L.A. shot 47.9 percent and was much better at the free-throw line on Saturday than it was on Friday. The Golden Eagles knocked down 18-of-22 on Saturday.
Robert Hayes had a game-high 19 points for the Gators, while Will Logan had 12 points and Ales Thomas had 10 points.San Francisco State shot 34.5 percent and was 21-of-25 from the line. The Gators also held a slim 34-31 rebounding edge.
The first half was even throughout with neither team able to hold a lead larger than four points. A pair of free throws by
Chris Mark gave the Golden Eagles a 32-31 lead at halftime.
The Golden Eagles then opened the second half with a 10-1 run to open up a 42-32 lead after a dunk by
Donte Bell. Cal State L.A. still led by 10 points, 44-34, after a layup by Mark before San Francisco State used a 10-0 run to tie the game following a layup by Alex Thomas with 11:42.
The Gators took their first lead of the half at 47-46 after a three-point play by Martin Flores and San Francisco State held its final lead at 50-48 after two free throws by Thomas with 8:58 remaining.
The Golden Eagles responded with a 7-0 run after a basket by Fields, two free throws by Polo and a three-point play by Fields to open up a 55-50 lead with 6:22 remaining and the Golden Eagles later pushed their lead to seven points, 65-58, after a driving layup by Polo with 2:02 left.
San Francisco State, though, turned up its defense and forced three turnovers to help fuel a 7-0 run that tied it. Hayes made three free throws during the stretch, Phoenix O'Rourke scored on a layup to make it 65-63 and Flores' basket tied it.
That set the stage for Gant's dramatic heroics.
Cal State L.A. will return to action next Friday with a road game at Cal State Stanislaus.
