The SF State men’s basketball team came up short as they tried to turn a roadblock into a hurdle Dec. 1 at the Swamp. The roadblock came in the form of the soon-to-be Division I Bakersfield Roadrunners, who defeated the Gators, 80-64.

The Roadrunners displayed a seemingly impenetrable defense that forced 23 turnovers while using their size advantage to out-rebound the Gators.

“Their defense is very intense, you can tell that they have all been playing together for a while,” SF State sophomore guard Alex Thomas said. “We just had a little bit too many turnovers and they had too many second chance points.”

Although it can be difficult to look at any loss optimistically, the Gators found many positives in the game. The team was fully aware of going up against an opponent in the final year of its five-year transition into a Division I conference.

“They are geared up to play at a whole different level,” second-year Gator men’s basketball coach Bill Treseler said. “They are ready to play Division I right now.”

The difference between Division I versus Division II has to do with the amount of funding and recruiting that Division I programs have at their disposal.

“They were a real good team,” sophomore guard Will Logan, who scored 11 points in the game said. “To me they seemed a lot better than a lot of D-I teams we played in exhibition games.”

The Roadrunners jumped out to an early 29-16 lead, but quality three-point shooting by Dean Wilson and a driving lay-up by Alex Thomas kept the Gators in tow through the first half.

“Alex Thomas and Dean Wilson played their asses off tonight,” junior guard David Van Someren, who scored 11 points in the game, said.

Thomas ended the game with 15 points, while Wilson scored 14 after coming off the bench.

Heading into the second half the score favored the Roadrunners, 35-23. As the point margin widened the Gators kept playing hard.

"As a team we stuck together, we never gave up,” Van Someren said. “We just kept fighting. Nobody quit.”

Despite being down in points, the Gators raised their total shooting percentage from 39.1 percent in the first half to 48.1 percent in the second. They also hit an even 50 percent of their three-pointers in the second half of play.

Overall, the Gators had a higher free-throw percentage and a higher three-point field goal percentage than the Roadrunners. The game was lost on the other side of the ball as the Roadrunners defense managed to force 11 more turnovers than the Gators while out-rebounding them 38-31. The Gators have not defeated the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners since the 1998-99 season.

“We played hard enough, tough enough and with enough energy to beat a good team,” Treseler said. “There were times when they went on some runs and our guys could have folded up the tent and just let it go, I thought our guys bounced back every time.”