TURLOCK — Don't turn off the Warriors' postseason lights off just yet. With another overtime win — this time an upset over No. 20 Cal Poly Pomona — the Stanislaus State men's basketball team has played itself back into the hunt for a spot in the CCAA Tournament.
Saturday night the Warriors pulled off another incredible victory to win in extra time for the second straight night in a 80-68 victory over the Broncos. Stan State is now 7-16 overall but more importantly the Warriors are 6-12 in CCAA play, just two games out of eighth place with two games to go.
Yes, the odds might seem long, but it's possible, especially with the way the Warriors played this weekend. They will need some help, too.
Stanislaus will first have to take care of business at Cal State L.A. (7-11 CCAA) on Thursday and come home and beat Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-14) in the regular season finale next Saturday. If the Warriors can win out with Sonoma State losing both games (at Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego) and another Cal State L.A. loss versus Chico State, then Stan State could be the No. 8 seed.
The playoff hopes are kept alive by a tremendous weekend beating Humboldt State and Cal Poly Pomona.
On Saturday against the Broncos,
Kyle Gouveia had a big career-high with 21 points. He added 11 rebounds to that for a double-double.
Christian Bayne also scored 21 points and dished 10 assists for his double-double. Bayne has scored in the 20s in three straight games now.
Early in the second half, Cal Poly Pomona (20-6, 13-6) went on a 12-0 run to take a 52-45 lead, but the Warriors responded with 10 unanswered points that included six Gouveia points to regain the lead 55-52 with 4:51 to play. A little bit of a see-saw battle ensued with Stanislaus gaining a four-point lead on free throws with about 1:14 to go. The Broncos would force overtime with a Quentin Taylor three-pointer and Jordan Faison free throw.
In the extra period,
Stephen Evans again got Stan State rolling with a trey to start a 12-0 run. Carlson mixed in a three-pointer and the Warriors converted on 6 of 7 free throws for a 74-62 lead.
Pomona didn't score it's first point in OT until a Jordan Ogundiran free throw with 38 seconds left. Before that, the Broncos were 0-for-5 from the field and missed all four three-point shots.
The Warriors ended up taking 34 free throws and made 23 with Bayne going 10-for-12 on the line.
Faniel pulled 15 rebounds as the Warriors dominated the boards, out-rebounding Pomona, 47-28. Bayne also had eight rebounds and
Alek Carlson (12 points) and
Joey Bennett (10) also chipped in on the scoring.
The Warriors, which beat Humboldt State 108-100 in triple overtime on Friday, are now 4-1 in OT games this season.