By James Oliden, Feb. 14, 2023
On Feb. 9 , the Broncos men’s basketball team played the San Francisco State Gators at Kellogg Arena, falling short by a score of 74-66 and bringing the team’s record to 10-11 on the year.
Sophomore guard Chris Gayles Jr. chipped in 19 points on 6-11 shooting along with freshman guard Shyheim Parm scoring 19 on a slightly less efficient 6-14 shooting.
Despite their efforts, the Broncos fell behind early and could never quite recover after giving up four straight threes to CJ Bellamy, who came into the game shooting 35% from the field on the season, going down 14-4 early in the contest.
“We focused on him, that was the most frustrating part,” said head coach Greg Kamansky. “We focused on the kid from San Bernardino Tuesday night, and he went 8-9 in the first half. These guys need to get their mind set and realize who’s out there.”
Things were not going good offensively early in the contest as consecutive missed jumpers by freshman guard Bam Johnson and freshman guard Jaden Winfield, along with a missed 3-pointer by sophomore forward Caleb Nelson, caused the Broncos to be on their heels.
The Broncos found themselves down 33-18 as the offense was stagnant and the defense seemed hopeless. They gave up an additional four threes to Toby Okwuokei, Jake Paxton and John Bakke.
However, there was some life for the Broncos late in the first half as they went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead down to five, with Nelson recording four points and two assists during this time as the Broncos trailed 35-30 with four minutes remaining in the half.
“We want to maintain that one stretch we had for the whole game, not just one spurt,” said Nelson. “And I think we have the ability to, but that starts with us playing good defense, first, and second, being smart on both ends of the ball, as well as pushing the ball in transition. Because I noticed when we were able to get out and run, we were able to make easier buckets, and then it got our defense set up and we could stop them more.”
Nelson dropped eight points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Broncos, playing a major factor for the team.
As the buzzer rang at the end of the first, the Broncos trailed 42-34 as the offense continued to struggle from deep, shooting 30% from three while the Gators shot 66.7% as Kamansky expressed his frustrations with the Broncos’ defense in the first half.
“It was our defense that tore us apart in the first half for the second, third game in a row,” said Kamansky. “That’s the most disappointing thing. That was the worst 3-point shooting team in the conference.”
The Broncos came into the contest sporting the second-best defense in the conference on a points-per-game basis, allowing 70.9 PPG.
As the second half started, the Gators’ defense continued to frustrate the Broncos, creating pressure and chaos.
The Broncos missed four straight attempts coming out the break until Nelson gave them their first points of the half, three and a half minutes in with an easy layup. The misses became contagious for the Broncos who ended up shooting 36% from the field and an abysmal 3-10 on free throws in the second half.
With just over seven minutes remaining and a nice dunk by the Gators’ John Bakke, the game seemed to be completely out of hand, with the score 64-43 in favor of the Gators.
The Broncos did not go without a fight as they went on an 18-7 run to cut the lead to 71-61 with just under two minutes remaining. Gayles Jr. was on fire during this stretch, scoring nine points on 3-4 and shooting from the field along with two additional free throws.
Gayles Jr. said that he plays his best the game when he is “looking for an opportunity to score and always being ready.” He said: “And whenever we get the best look, we feel like we’re encouraged to take that shot by our teammates and the coaches as well. I was just looking for that every time.”
Unfortunately, the run came too late for the Broncos as there was just not enough time for the comeback.
Now 21 games into the season, Kamansky discussed the team’s future as the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament approaches.
“We got 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds out there with lots of future talent, but it’s got to be now,” said Kamansky. “We’re not even going to make the tournament playing like this.”
As the Broncos continue to push for their spot in the CCAA tournament, their next opponent is against Sonoma State at the Wolves’ Den, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., with their last matchup going to the Broncos.
Feature image by Daniel Tapia
