SAN BERNARDINO – The Chico State men’s basketball team played California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) powerhouses Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino on successive nights Friday and Saturday. They battled. They scrapped. They clawed. They fought. They believed. They left all they had on the court. And they left Southern California with two punch-to-the-gut losses.
That’s what life can be like in the rough-and-tumble and talent rich CCAA.
The Wildcats held an early second-half lead against first-place Cal State San Bernardino, and even after the Coyotes responded to re-take control, had a shot at a game-tying 3-pointer late. But Jon Baird missed that 3-pointer – the first of five straight Chico State missed to finish the game – and the Wildcats lost 60-53.
That loss, coupled with Chico State’s 69-61 loss at Cal Poly Pomona one night earlier, dropped the Wildcats to below.500 in the CCAA for the first time this season at 7-8. They are 11-9 overall and have dropped five straight road games since beginning the season 6-0 away from Acker Gym. The good news is, the Wildcats play their next five games at home beginning Tuesday night against Cal State Stanislaus.
Cal State San Bernardino improved to 15-5 overall and 13-3 in the CCAA behind University of Pacific transfer Bryan LeDuc’s 19-point, 13-rebound performance.
Roderick Hawkins matched LeDuc for game-high scoring honors with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead the Wildcats. Nick Lonnegren gave the Wildcats a huge spark off the bench with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting in 15 minutes of play. Baird finished with 10 points but made just 2-of-11 shots.
Lonnegren’s 3-pointer late in the first half capped a 13-3 run that got Chico State back into the game when it seemed as though the Coyotes might dominate the evening’s festivities. San Bernardino’s lead was five when Hawkins hit a short jumper in the paint to spark a 7-0 run that gave Chico State its first lead since the opening minutes. Zach Graves’ fast break layup, a Terence Pellum free throw, and another Hawkins bucket gave Chico State a 32-30 advantage with 15:13 to play.
The Coyotes responded with a 12-3 spurt that gave them the lead back for good.
The Wildcats pulled to within a basket on seven different occasions but never got over the hump. Lonnegren’s 3-pointer with 8:51 to play made it a three-point game before Devon Davis answered with a layup for San Bernardino. Lonnegren’s three-point play cut the deficit to two with 7:44 left, but Corey Caston answered with an inside bucket. Caston scored again after a Hawkins basket had trimmed the lead to 46-44. And after Lonnegren made a jump shot to make it 48-46, Aaron Hill hit one of two free throws for San Bernardino and David Jefferson made two more following Pellum’s turnover and foul.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats were within one possession just one more time after that, when Baird misfired on the 3-pointer with Chico State trailing 54-51 with 2:27 left.
