Box Score ROHNERT PARK —
Tyler Barber scored most of his points in the second half as he and the Warriors held on for a 67-61 victory at Sonoma State Friday night as Cal State Stanislaus improved to 5-0 for the first time during the CCAA era.
Like their women counterparts, the Warrior men are also enjoying the early success as they too improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Stanislaus is 2-0 in CCAA play for the first time since the 2000 season.
Offensively, Barber was a key to success for Stanislaus, especially in the second half. Barber, a junior transfer from Pasadena, scored 14 of his game-best 16 points in the second half.
After Sonoma State regained the lead halfway through the second period, Barber scored six straight points to give Stanislaus the lead for good. Barber answered a Justin Herold dunk for a 50-46 SSU lead with a jumper, then a free-throw and capped the personal rally with a three-pointer to single-handedly gave the Warriors a 52-50 lead on a 6-0 run at 6:57 on the clock.
The Warriors never did surrender that lead again and used a 6-3 run to close out the game.
Barber ended up 5-for-6 from the field including 3-for-4 from beyond the three-point arch in the second half. Barber's offensive night was needed as
Marcus Bell had an off night. Bell was just 5-for-13 for 10 points after entering the contest with a 24.8 points per game average.
Defensively,
Rob Walters was a force with team-leading nine rebounds, three steals and four blocked shots — all career highs.
Shey Mataele chipped in eight points off the bench and
Sam Marcus added seven points.
The Warriors shot 44.1 percent for the game and took 18 more field goals than Sonoma State, largely due to 23 Seawolve turnovers. Sonoma State (1-4, 0-1 CCAA) was led by Sterling Arterberry, who had 15 points.
Cal State Stanislaus will look to improve to 6-0 on Saturday at San Francisco State to continue the CCAA era program-best start. The Warriors could become the first Stanislaus team to start the CCAA calendar with three wins (the 2000-01 team started 4-0, 2-0 CCAA).
