TURLOCK, Calif. – The Chico State men's basketball team twice flirted with thrilling comebacks, but it was the dubious record the Wildcats also flirted with that eventually did them in as they dropped an 86-82 decision at Cal State Stanislaus in the California Collegiate Athletic Association opener for both teams Wednesday night.
The Wildcats cut a 17-point halftime deficit to three, and then after the Warriors built the lead back to 15 points, Chico State again cut it to three on three separate occasions, but the team's 31 turnovers, just one shy of a school record, proved too much to overcome.
Chico State fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA with the loss. Cal State Stanislaus improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the CCAA.
Junior College transfer Jesse Soto came off the bench to lead Chico State in scoring with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Justin Argenal and Frank Igbekoyi combined for 25 points, all in the second half. Darroll Phillips finished with 15 points and Josh Jackson scored nine. Rod Hawkins led the Wildcats with nine rebounds.
Heath Colvin led four Cal State Stanislaus players in double-figures with 22 points. Scott Behrs scored 17 on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Point guard Duane Jones finished with eight points, nine assists, and three steals.
Chico State outrebounded the hosts 37-29, shot 53-percent from the floor compared to Stanislaus' 45-percent, and had 10 steals (led by Argenal's six and Jackson's three) to the Warriors' eight. But Chico State turned the ball over 23 times in the first half and eight more times in the second half, including twice in the final three minutes when a 3-pointer would have tied the game.
The Wildcats trailed just 37-33 after Shane Bradley's jumper with 3:04 remaining in the first half. But they turned the ball over in four times and missed a pair of 3-pointers in their final six possessions of the half while Cal State Stanislaus went on a 13-0 run.
The 50-33 deficit the Wildcats faced coming out of the locker room was trimmed to 59-56 when Phillips capped a 23-9 run with a layup just over seven minutes into the second half. Soto scored eight points during the run and Igbekoyi asserted himself inside, scoring five.
After a stop, the Wildcats had a chance to cut further into the lead or tie the game with a 3-pointer, but Phillips was called for traveling. The Warriors responded with a 3-pointer, a layup, another 3-pointer, a layup, and another 3-pointer in their next six possessions to reassert themselves. They eventually built the lead back to 15 (77-62) with nine minutes to play.
Chico State would not give in, however. Argenal and Igbekoyi combined on the next six points to spark a 15-3 run that cut the lead to 80-77 with three minutes to play. After Chico State got the defensive stop it needed, Soto was whistled for traveling.
Heath Colvin's jumper and free throw gave the Warriors some breathing room before Argenal buried a 3-pointer to make it 83-80 with 1:21 remaining. The Wildcats again got a much-needed stop, but their 31st turnover of the night forced them to resort to fouling and Duane Jones made 3-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds to secure the Stanislaus victory.
Chico State will continue CCAA play this Saturday when it travels to face UC San Diego at 7:30 p.m. Cal State Stanislaus will take on the Tritons in San Diego Friday night.
Official Basketball Box Score
Chico State vs Cal State Stanislaus
11/28/07 7:30 p.m. at Turlock, Calif. (Warrior Arena)
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VISITORS: Chico State 2-3, 0-1 CCAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
12 ARGENAL, Justin..... * 3-8 2-4 4-4 0 2 2 3 12 3 4 0 6 23
22 SMITH, Ryan......... * 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 10
24 PHILLIPS, Darroll... * 6-13 3-8 0-0 2 0 2 4 15 0 5 0 0 27
34 HAWKINS, Rod........ * 3-7 0-1 0-0 3 6 9 2 6 2 4 0 0 27
54 IGBEKOYI, Frank..... * 5-5 0-0 3-4 1 3 4 0 13 0 1 0 0 20
14 SOTO, Jesse......... 9-15 1-2 1-2 3 2 5 3 20 1 6 1 1 30
20 ASH, Robert......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
30 FERRIN, Andrew...... 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 15
32 JACKSON, Josh....... 4-7 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 1 9 0 3 0 3 20
42 BRADLEY, Shane...... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 0 3 0 0 6
50 SANTIAGO, Luis...... 0-0 0-0 5-6 0 3 3 1 5 0 0 0 0 15
52 BAKER, Maurice...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 3
TEAM................ 2 2 1
Totals.............. 31-59 7-20 13-16 13 24 37 23 82 8 31 1 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-25 48.0% 2nd Half: 19-34 55.9% Game: 52.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-12 25.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 35.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 81.3% 2
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HOME TEAM: Cal State Stanislaus 2-3, 1-0 CCAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 CARDOSO, Rick....... * 5-12 0-2 2-7 4 1 5 4 12 0 4 0 0 26
03 JONES, Duane........ * 1-8 1-5 5-6 1 0 1 4 8 9 3 0 3 33
12 WESTBROOK, Calvin... * 4-8 3-6 4-4 1 2 3 2 15 6 3 1 2 32
22 COLVIN, Heath....... * 8-15 1-2 5-6 2 2 4 4 22 2 5 0 0 32
24 JOHNSON, Terry...... * 2-5 0-1 0-0 3 1 4 2 4 1 0 2 1 24
00 BEHRS, Scott........ 5-8 5-8 2-2 0 5 5 2 17 1 0 0 1 29
04 HAYES, Chris........ 1-3 1-2 2-2 0 1 1 1 5 0 2 0 0 12
05 MARAKER, Richard.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4
11 CASSITA, J.R........ 1-1 1-1 0-1 1 0 1 1 3 1 3 0 0 8
TEAM................ 1 4 5 2
Totals.............. 27-60 12-27 20-28 13 16 29 20 86 21 22 3 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-31 48.4% 2nd Half: 12-29 41.4% Game: 45.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-13 46.2% 2nd Half: 6-14 42.9% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 14-19 73.7% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 71.4% 4
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Officials: Ronald Brokenbrough, Edward Page, Horace Shields
Technical fouls: Chico State-None. Cal State Stanislaus-None.
Attendance: 412
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Chico State................... 33 49 - 82
Cal State Stanislaus.......... 50 36 - 86
CCAA Opener for both teams
