The Div II Sonoma State Seawolves had their hands full Thursday night as they traveled to Berkely, Ca. to take on the defending Pac-10 champion California Golden Bears. While the goal was to win their exhibition contest against Mike Montgomery's Bears, only the most optimistic Seawolves fan may have thought there was a chance of knocking off the champs.
Head coach Pat Fuscaldo even half-expected that Cal would be too much for his Seawolves team. "We had a lot of fun in the first half," he was quoted on the Sonoma State website. "In the second half, it was only a matter of time until (California) broke out."
In the first half, SSU kept it close, even getting back to within two points (18-20) with 12:10 left in the period. Senior guard Ben Washington led all scorers at the half with 18 points (6-6 FG, 5-5 3PT, 1-2 FT), two assists, one steal, and one rebound. Despite being a problem for Cal beyond the arc, the Golden Bears had freshman swingman Allen Crabbe put in 15 points of his own.
At the end of half, Cal led Sonoma State 52-44 after trading baskets with the Seawolves for the last minute and a half of the period.
"I thought the first half was pretty rugged," said Montgomery during his post game press conference. "We just really didn't defend...they shot the ball extremely well. I'll give them credit for that. And they had a lot of guys, it wasn't just the perimeter guys, but to give them 44 points in a half and let Washington have 18 was a little bit discouraging."
Washington wouldn't score a point in the second half, Cal would come out of the locker room firing on all cylinders, and within three minutes of play in the second period, the Seawolves would find themselves quickly down by 19. For most of the second half, SSU would be down by 20 or more points and never come close to challenging the Pac-10 team.
Along with Washington, three other Seawolves scored in double-digits. Sophomores Will Olsem (10 pts), Sterling Arterberry (10 pts), and Steven Lackey (12 pts) helped to keep SSU as respectable as traveling Div II team could hope against a Div I, Pac-10 team.
The Seawolves will come home to host the Ron Logsdon Basketball Classic Nov. 19, and are scheduled to face Notre Dame de Namur in Rohnert Park.
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