The Chico State men's basketball team needed a bounce-back effort following its season-opening loss. Point guard Jalen McFerren set the tone, and the Wildcats delivered. McFerren forced two early turnovers on the way to a 17-point, four-steal performance in Chico State's 80–58 victory over Biola Saturday at the CCAA/PacWest Conference Challenge, hosted by Cal State San Marcos.
McFerren, our Wildcat of the Week, averaged 14 points, three steals, and three rebounds per game over the 7th-ranked Wildcats' opening weekend. He shot 50 percent from the field and railed four 3-pointers in the process.
His defense is what set McFerren apart, however. The Wildcats gave up an uncharacteristic 82 points in an opening-night loss to Concordia-Irvine. Head Coach Greg Clink challenged the team to be better. McFerren set the tone Saturday against Biola with his full-court on-ball pressure and two quick early steals that led to coast-to-coast conversions. He buried a pair of 3-pointers late in the game to push the Wildcats' lead over 20 and salt the game away.
Already on Chico State's career top-10 lists in free throw percentage (1st - .863) and 3-point percentage (7th - .416), and the 12th member of the program's 200-career assist club, McFerren enters Saturday night's showdown against rival Humboldt State on ESPN3 and WatchESPN on the brink of breaking into more top-10 lists. The senior from Oakland (Castro Valley High School) needs just one more steal to tie Sean Park for 10th with 92 and one more 3-pointer to tie Amir Carraway for 10th with 138.
