ALAMOSA, Colo. -- Nicholas Kay scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half as No. 4 Metro State earned an 88-77 win at Adams State on Friday. The Roadrunners improved to 13-1 overall and 7-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while ASU fell to 7-6 and 4-6.
Kay hit two 3-pointers and shot 6 of 11 from the floor and 7 of 8 at the free-throw line, while pulling down 10 rebounds for his seventh career double-double. Brandon Jefferson was nearly perfect, shooting 4 of 5 from the floor and 8 of 8 at the free-throw line to score 18 points. He extended his consecutive free throws-made streak to a school-record 27.
Mitch McCarron added 12 points and five assists, while Raul Delgado (11 points) and Jamal McClerkin (10) joined him in scoring double figures. Will Sinclair just missed that mark with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Roadrunners shot 54.1 percent to help make up for a season-high 19 turnovers forced by 12 ASU steals. Metro State outrebounded the Grizzlies 35-30. MSU, the top free-throw shooting team in the RMAC, made 28 of 32 (.875) at the line.
No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino 65, San Francisco State 65
SAN FRANCISCO -- Kirby Gardner carries a muscular build at 6-foot-2 and the senior guard placed 9th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino on his back in its 75-65 victory against San Francisco State in California Collegiate Athletic Association action Friday.
Gardner scored 24 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half, and the Coyotes got rolling in the second half for their 12th consecutive win -- their longest stretch of success in seven seasons.
The Coyotes, now 12-1 overall and on top of the CCAA at 9-0, came back after trailing for the first time all season at halftime. Their streak of not trailing in the second half also ended at eight games, but for only 108 seconds as Gardner and company won going away on a night when their field-goal shooting was not on.
Gardner fired in his fifth 3-pointer of the night that tied the game at 40-40 with 18:12 left in the game. And a free throw 10 seconds later from senior G Lacy Haddock gave the Coyotes the lead they would not relinquish.
What helped the Coyotes get going in the final half was their ability to force turnovers and make the Gators pay. They outscored SFSU 18-3 off 17 second-half turnovers and secured a defensive season-high 24 turnovers.
