SEATTLE - The excitement built with every defensive stop and every ensuing bucket. In the end, though, the Chico State men's basketball team couldn't hold off a hard-charging Division I Seattle University team in a 61-58 loss at the Redhawks' own Elgin Baylor Tip-off Classic. The thing is, the excitement was there in Head Coach Greg Clink's debut.
The Wildcats' season-opening loss after they led by as many as nine points on three separate occasions was undoubtedly disappointing to the team. The bigger picture for Chico State basketball fans is encouraging, however. The Wildcats showed a ton of promise. The defense, torched for 95 points by the Redhawks last season, limited Seattle University to 19 first-half points. Andy Bocian, in his first game back after choosing not to play last season, poured in a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Senior transfer Junior Russell scored 10 points and dished out five assists. Sophomore transfer Zach Graves pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Roderick Hawkins finished wih seven points and seven rebounds.
Chico State will take on Saint Martin's in a West Region showdown Sunday at 2 p.m. before returning home.
The Wildcats took a 25-19 lead into halftime thanks to a stifling defensive effort that limited the Redhawks to 7-of-21 shooting. They built the lead to 43-34 on Bocian's layup with just over nine minutes to play. His 3-pointer a minute later kept the cushion at nine, 48-39.
The Wildcats' offense suddenly sputtered at that point, however, missing three shots, three free throw attempts, and turning it over three times in the following six minutes. That allowed Seattle University to draw even, 49-49, with three minutes to play. The lead changed hands in each of the next four possessions before the Redhawks took the lead for good on Michael Wright's jump shot with 2:04 remaining.
The lead was five before Canyon Miller stepped off the bench to bury a 3-pointer that cut the lead to 58-56 with 51 seconds left. After Seattle University made 1-of-2 free throws, Miller's potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out with 28 seconds left. Bocian's steal and score with three seconds remaining gave the Wildcats one last hope by cutting the lead to 60-58, but Hawkins' three-quarters court desperation heave hit the backboard, the rim, and bounced off as the buzzer sounded.
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