The SF State men’s basketball team will complete the back end of their three-game homestand this week, with games against the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos Thursday night and the Chico State Wildcats Saturday afternoon.
Coming off a 78-76 win against Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, Nov. 23, their first game of conference play, the Gators now sit at 4-1 overall and 1-0 in CCAA conference play.
SF State is fourth in CCAA standings so far this season.
Junior guard Kenny Macklin looks to stay hot after coming off a career-high 18 points in the win against Monterey Bay.
Senior guard Niquis Garland also set a new career-high, with 10 points and three three-pointers in the win.
Cal Poly Pomona, 2-0 on the season, will kick off their conference schedule against the Gators Thursday night.
The No. 7 nationally-ranked Broncos are led by junior guard Dwight Ramos, who’s averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 27.5 minutes. The West Covina native is shooting 52 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from deep, and 77.8 percent from the line on the young season.
Last season, the Gators went 0-3 against the Broncos, with their playoff run ending against the then-ranked No. 19 Broncos team in the CCAA Championship Semifinals.
SF State’s last win against Cal Poly Pomona was Dec. 3, 2016, where the Gators downed the Broncos 79-63. Five Gators scored in double figures, led by Warren Jackson’s 19.
Cal Poly Pomona returns 2017-18 CCAA Freshman of the Year Phoenix Shackelford, along with All-CCAA first-team selections William Christmas and Jordan Ogundiran.
The Broncos are led by the reigning CCAA Coach of the Year Greg Kamansky, who enters his 19th season as Cal Poly Pomona’s head coach. He is the winningest men’s basketball coach in program history.
Cal Poly Pomona is favored as the second-best team to come out of the CCAA.
Chico State, will take on the Gators Saturday night in their second game of the season, after their first five games of the year were cancelled due to the wildfires in Northern California.
The Wildcats dropped their first game of the season against No. 16 UC San Diego 68-84. Five players hit double figures for the Wildcats in their season-opener.
SF State split the season series against Chico State last year 1-1, with the most recent game a dominant defensive 67-38 win, in which the Gators held their opponents to 23.1 percent shooting from the field.
It was the first time since Dec. 12, 2009, that the Gators held an opponent to under 40 points.
Chico State is favored as the third-best team to come out of the CCAA, and looks to register their sixth-straight 20-win season.
SF State will take on Cal Poly Pomona Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at The Swamp.
The Saturday afternoon matchup against Chico State will tip-off at 3 p.m. from The Swamp.
