Despite ending their four-game road trip with a 3-1 record, the SF State men’s basketball team is not satisfied.
One game in particular that first-year head coach Paul Trevor would like for his team to have back is an 84-60 loss to the Cal State San Bernardino Coyoteson Dec. 30.
After the loss, Trevor and the team recognized that despite having a six-day break before that road game, they did not play up to their abilities and as a result have incorporated a new motto for the rest of the season: “40 minutes.”
“We want to heighten our focus,” Trevor said. “Our team hates to not play well especially with the amount of seniors we got. We talk about competing for 40 minutes, to put our best effort out there, and to just do what we do.”
According to senior point guard and co-captain Marquel Hoskins, the Gators will apply this mindset and look to even the score against the Coyotes, who lead them by a half-game in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, at home on Jan. 28.
“We remember that loss,” Hoskins said. “We did not show up. But this next home game is real important because we got to protect our house. Fortunately, things are coming together and we are ready to play.”
Marquel, described by sophomore guard Nefi Perdomo as the heart and soul of the team, is the Gators’ second-leading scorer with 12.1 points per game this season.
Still, Hoskins said it is his job to get other players open shots and involved in the offense.
“On this last road trip, everybody seemed to be on the same page,” he said. “Everyone shot well from the field and from the free-throw line. We are getting contributions from a lot of people, and they have stepped their game up.”
With a 10-6 overall record and a fourth-place standing in the CCAA with an 8-4 record, the Gators are averaging 73.4 points per game while allowing 68.4 points per game. They are 8-0 when they hold their opponents under 70 points, 6-0 when teams score 65 points, and 4-0 when their opponents score 60 points.
“We played every team once,” Perdomo said. “We know our mistakes now. So when we play these next games, we will be prepared.”
Heading into their final 10 games of the season – six of which are at home – Trevor wants his team to improve in two areas where they have struggled this season: Teams are averaging 34.8 rebounds per game against the undersized Gators and SF State is only shooting 69.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Perdomo, who leads the team with 17 points per game and is shooting 79 percent from the free-throw line, is not concerned with these statistics and said he just tries to do whatever it takes for his team to score.
“I let the game come to me,” he said. “I look for my teammates and like to set them up with shots just like they set me up with shots. We feel like we are centers. It is the will of the man, not the size of the man.”
