Damario Sims rose above the adversity, released the ball, and gave the Chico State men’s basketball team the shot in the arm it needed to rally for a huge 69-66 win against Cal State L.A. on Saturday night. Sims sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions – the epicenter of a 25-10 game-ending run – as the Wildcats rallied from 12 points down to defeat Cal State L.A. The huge shots revealed huge confidence from Sims, who had missed 11 straight 3-pointers before knocking those two down. For his contribution and his confidence, Sims has been named Wildcat of the Week.
Sims finished the game with 15 points, eight of which came in the last 7:24. His jumper at the 7:24 mark drew the Wildcats to within 10 points and started a 10-0 run that got them back in the game. The junior answered a Cal State L.A. 3-pointer with one of his own from straight on at the 2:09 mark. He struck again on Chico State’s next possession with a 3-pointer from the wing 43 seconds later to make it a one-point game.
Sims’ defense helped force a Cal State L.A. turnover on the Golden Eagles’ next possession and the Wildcats went on to win. Sims finished the game with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, two rebounds and a steal. It was a heady bounce-back for Sims, who had perhaps his toughest shooting night as a collegiate on Friday night, going 2-for-15. He did contribute five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal, however, in the Wildcats’ 49-46 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Sims leads the 12-4 Wildcats in scoring at 10.8 points per game and heads into this weekend’s games at Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay needing just 26 points to reach 750 for his career.
