SAN RAFAEL, Calif.— Dominican men's basketball fell to an early deficit and was unable to recover down the stretch, falling to San Francisco State University, 65-82 Saturday night at the Conlan Center.
 
Linton Acliese led the Gators (2-0) nearing a double-double with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal. Eche Okeke also created havoc for the Penguins (0-2), recording 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. The Gators shot 47.9% from the field and held Dominican to just 41.7% from the field, and 28% from behind the arc. 
 
Dominican's stats leaders for the night were Jaelen Ragsdale with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, along with Jordan Williams who logged 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.
 
The Penguins and Gators battled back and forth to start the game, until the 11th minute mark when Zane Paddon helped SFSU take a 10-point lead by hitting a three-pointer from the top of the arc. 
 
San Francisco State went on to control the pace of play and led by as much as 16 in the first half when the Gators recovered a turnover from Ragsdale and skipped ahead to Acliese for a midrange jumper to extend the lead to 37-21 with 2:31 left in the first half.
 
The Penguins were able to cut the deficit to 11 with under a minute to go when Jordan Williams grabbed a rebound and took it coast-to-coast for a turn-around jumper in the paint to make it a 39-28 game heading into the half.
 
The Penguins carried the momentum into the second half as Romeo Mays followed a missed three-point attempt from Sam Averbuck with a put-back dunk to give Dominican a spark of energy. But it was short-lived as Paddon knocked down a three from the left wing on the following possession to swing the momentum back in the Gator's favor. After trading buckets, the Gators went on a 15-4 run, capped off with break-away from Okeke and a one-handed dunk to put SFSU ahead 65-42 with their largest lead of the night with 9:33 left to go in regulation.
 
Dominican came within 13 of the Gators with 2:24 on the clock as Ragsdale drove down the lane to earn free throws, but 13 was as close as the Penguins would come to matching SFSU. 
 
The Penguins return to the court Friday, Nov. 15, as they travel to Cal State East Bay to take on the Pioneers at 7:30 p.m. PDT. Live video and stats will be available online.