Chico State senior point guard Mike Rosaroso is getting his first extended run as the Wildcats’ starting point guard and he’s making it count. Rosaroso has helped guide the Wildcats to a 6-3 start (3-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association) and ranks among the CCAA’s top 10 in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and free throw percentage.
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Saturday, the Wildcat of the Week set a new career high with three steals while setting the tone for a Chico State defense that held the Cal State Stanislaus without a field goal for the first eight-plus minutes of the game.
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Rosaroso finished the game with seven points, four assists, those three steals, and two rebounds.
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A starter just three times over his first three seasons as a Wildcat, Rosaroso has started all nine of the Wildcats’ games in 2014-15. The Sacramento native leads the Wildcats in assists with 25 and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4. He ranks second on the team in free throw percentage (.806) and third in scoring at 9.3 points per game.
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Perhaps most importantly, Rosaroso has spearheaded the conference’s top defense. The Wildcats are allowing just 53.5 points per conference affair while forcing 16 turnovers – third most in the conference – and allowing the fewest 3-pointers in the league, 16.
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Rosaroso and the Wildcats, currently in a three-way tie for second place in the CCAA, will return from their holiday break with games at Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego Jan. 2-3, respectively. They return home to take on long-time rival Humboldt State Jan. 9.
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