CHICO, Calif – Alex Thomas sent Chico State’s largest crowd of the season unhappy, burying a long 3-pointer with seven seconds left to lift the San Francisco State men’s basketball team to a 66-64 victory over Chico State in front of 1,254 rowdy fans in Acker Gym. Andy Bocian’s 3-point try with one second left bounced off the rim.

The game was a nail-biter from start to finish and neither team led by more than six points. The score was tied nine times and the lead changed hands 13 times. That was one too many times for the Wildcats, who took a 64-62 lead with 16 seconds left on Bocian’s inside bucket. The Wildcats were taking the ball out from under the rim with just two seconds on the shot clock, but Bocian worked free enough for Justin Argenal to feed him the ball for the bucket and a foul.

Bocian missed the free throw that would have forced San Francisco State to try a game tying 3-pointer. Instead, Thomas’ 3 gave the Gators the win. He gained space by putting his forearm into the chest of Argenal, rose into the air from well beyond the arc, and knocked the shot down for a 65-64 lead.

Bocian took the inbounds pass and chose to pull up from 3-point range with time still left on the clock. His shot bounced off the front of the rim, Thomas corralled it and was fouled, and made one-of-two free throws for the final score.

San Francisco State improved to 11-7 overall and 5-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with the win. The Gators also maintained control of eighth place in the conference, which is important because the top eight teams earn a berth in the CCAA Championship Tournament. Chico State (6-12, 3-8 CCAA) now trails the Gators and Cal State L.A. by two games in the race for that eighth spot.

Bocian, the CCAA’s leading scorer, paced Chico State with 22 points and notched season highs of four assists and two blocked shots. Argenal finished with a season-high 17 points. He also had four assists, two steals, and just one turnover in 36 minutes of action. The fourth-year senior is now just three assists shy of the CCAA career record of 540.

Zach Graves, starting in place of the injured Nick Lonnegren, finished with six points, five rebounds, and four assists. Roderick Hawkins scored 11 points.

Thomas paced San Francisco State with 13 points, while Will Logan and Brad Visman scored 10 apiece.

The Wildcats led by five on three different occasions in the second half but could not build on that cushion. They took a 57-52 advantage on Bocian’s layup with 4:25 remaining. San Francisco State tied the game at 57-apiece with consecutive buckets coming off offensive rebounds, however.

Argenal gave Chico State the lead again with a 3-pointer assisted by Bocian with 2:48 left, and after Visman’s layup, Graves scored inside on a nice feed from Bocian to make it 62-59 with 1:45 to play.

Chico State had a chance to build on the lead, but Hawkins was called for a travel and Robert Hayes made a long 3-pointer to tie the game with 59 seconds left, setting up the last-second theater.

Chico State returns to action Saturday night at 7:30 when it hosts CSU Monterey Bay, coached by long-time Chico State assistant Rob Bishop. The Otters (12-6, 6-5 CCAA) won at Cal State Stanislaus 99-88 Friday night. Hear all the action with Mike Baca calling the play-by-play on ESPN 101.7 FM in Chico or via the Internet on the Wildcat Athletics website. You can also follow the action with Live Stats, located on the Wildcats website.

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