Sac State's Taiwan tour

"BIG 2ND QTR LIFTS PHILIPPINES TO WIN OVER MEN’S HOOPS; DAY 5 PLAYER BLOGS"

"The Philippines outscored Sacramento State in the second quarter, 31-12, and held a huge 48-6 advantage in free throw attempts on the way to an 88-69 victory over Sacramento State in the fourth round of the 38th-annual William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

The Philippines, which has been among the best teams at the tournament thus far, improved to 3-0 at the eight-game, nine-day event, and is averaging 87.7 points per game. That includes comfortable victories over the Hornets, South Korea and Chinese Taipei A. The Philippines is the only team the Hornets will play during the tournament that is not a national squad. The team plays in the Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (PCBL) and has won championships in the Republica Cup three times in the last four years (2013, 2014, 2016).

Sacramento State, which was playing its fourth game in four days, dropped to 1-3. After the Hornets defeated India in the tournament opener on Saturday, the Hornets have lost to South Korea, Iran and the Philippines, respectively. Iran and the Philippines are the lone undefeated teams remaining in the tournament and both have 3-0 records.

Sacramento State will play its fifth game in as many days tomorrow when the Hornets take on Chinese Taipei B at 4 a.m. PDT.

For the second straight game, the Hornets could not overcome a huge foul and free throw disparity. The Hornets were whistled for 22 more fouls than the Philippines (33-11) and went to the free throw line just six times. Conversely, the Philippines made a robust 48 trips to the charity stripe. Sacramento State actually converted on five more field goals in the game, but the Hornets went just 5-for-6 from the free throw line while the Philippines went 31-of-48 from the stripe. The Hornets' James Herrick, Joshua Patton, Justin Strings, Nick Hornsby and Eric Stuteville all had at least four fouls while Herrick fouled out in 11 minutes. Stuteville had three fouls during the game's first five minutes.

Both teams played even in the first, third and fourth quarters, but the Philippines had a big second quarter. Sacramento State held its largest lead of the game at 19-12 with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter, and took its last lead of the contest at 29-28 on a turnaround jumper from Grant Dressler with 6:40 left in the second. However, the Philippines would close the final 6:31 of the second quarter on a 26-6 run to go into halftime with a 54-35 lead. Both teams scored 15 points in the third quarter and 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento State outrebounded the Philippines, 46-40, while shooting .361 (30-83) from the field and .211 (4-19) from the 3-point line. Both teams combined for just 22 turnovers, and the Philippines shot .385 (25-65) from the field and .304 (7-23) from the 3-point line.

For the Hornets, Dressler scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field while also pulling seven rebounds. He was joined in double figures by guard Jeff Wu, who had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Strings, who had scored in double figures in each of the first three games of the tournament, was held scoreless but did have seven rebounds. Patton, who is a redshirt freshman, grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while also notching a team-best two blocked shots.

Stuteville and guards Jiday Ugbaja and Matt Battaglia each scored eight points. Battaglia, a true freshman from El Dorado Hills, was a proficient 3-for-4 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Ugbaja was 4-for-6 from the floor. Guard Marcus Graves added six points, five rebounds and a team-high tying three assists while Trevis Jackson had three rebounds and three assists. Hornsby had four points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.

Sacramento State plays tomorrow against a Chinese Taipei B squad that is 1-2, but all three of its games have been decided by eight points or less. That includes an 81-80 victory today over the Chinese Taipei A team..."