SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The smell of upset seemed to be in the air at times as the Chico State men's basketball team faced preseason California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) favorite Cal State San Bernardino on the road Saturday night. In the end, however, there was no upset recorded on the scoreboard. The host Coyotes fended off a number of Chico State rallies and pulled away in the closing seconds for a 75-57 win.
An 8-0 run to start the second half quickly turned what looked like an insermountable halftime defecit into a 32-29 lead, but the Coyotes responded with a run of their own to stretch their lead back to nine. Zach Graves' layup a few minutes later trimmed the lead back to four, but again San Bernardino responded. This time the Coyotes went on a 13-2 run to take a 60-45 lead with just over six minutes remaining and all hope seemed lost for the Wildcats.
They weren't done fighting, however.
Justin Argenal's 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run, and after San Bernardino stemmed the tide with a Brandon Brown dunk, Andy Bocian buried a 3-pointer to close Chico State's gap to 62-55 with 2:32 to play. The Wildcats missed their last five shots, however, and could get no closer.
Bocian, the CCAA’s leading scorer, led the Wildcats (4-7 overall and 1-3 in the CCAA) with 18 points. Nick Lonnegren had a game-high 11 rebounds for Chico State. Argenal had five assists and four steals.
The Coyotes shot 49 percent from the field, including 54 percent in the second half, to key their third straight win. They are now 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the CCAA. They join UC San Diego, Cal State Dominguez Hills, CSU Monterey Bay, and Humboldt State atop the conference standings.
With the win the Coyotes avenged a 63-60 upset loss to the Wildcats that they suffered last Feb. 15 in Coussoulis Arena.
The Wildcats will now return home where they'll play four straight games and 10 of their next 16 to wrap up the regular season, beginning this Friday against Humboldt State at 7:30 p.m.. They face Sonoma State at the same time Saturday.
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