CHICO, Calif – Zach Graves and the dynamic effort of the Chico State Wildcats were the stories of the first half. Brandon Brown took over in the second half and decided how the story would end. Brown scored 24 of his 39 points in the second half to lift visiting Cal State San Bernardino to a come from behind and then run away and hide 84-67 win against host Chico State at Acker Gym Friday night.
Brown buried 3-pointers on three of San Bernardino’s first four possessions of the second half as the Coyotes embarked on a 16-minute stretch in which they made 17 of 22 shots. That turned a 41-30 Chico State lead into a 77-65 Coyotes advantage with four minutes remaining. Brown was 8-for-10 and scored 22 points during the 44-24 onslaught.
Graves helped stake Chico State to that 41-30 lead by scoring 17 of his career-high 20 points in the opening half on a gorgeous array of driving buckets and jump shots. Andy Bocian led the Wildcats with 23 points.
Cal State San Bernardino improved to 12-7 overall and 10-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with the win. Chico State fell to 6-14 overall and 3-10 in the CCAA.
Brown’s 39 points were just one off the Acker Gym scoring record of 40, set by former Wildcat Andre Speech against Seattle Pacific University during the 1997-98 season.
However, it was the Wildcats who were the story of the first half.
Graves made 8-of-9 shots, Justin Argenal dished out seven assists, and the Wildcats outrebounded Cal State San Bernardino 17-13 in the opening 20 minutes with a determined effort and rooted on by a boisterous crowd of 920. Their lead grew as large as 30-17 when Argenal found Graves for a backdoor layup and they eventually went to intermission with a 38-30 advantage.
Bocian buried a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half to push the lead to 41-30. But Brown netted three 3-pointers during an 11-2 Coyotes run that followed that trimmed the lead to 44-41. His fourth 3-pointer of the half, with 13:54 to play, tied the game for the first time since early in the first half, 48-48.
Chico State made one last run at victory over the next seven minutes, keeping the Coyotes at bay while building five-point leads on two different occasions. However, Lawrence Tyson and Brown combined to score 18 points during a 24-2 run that spanned seven crucial minutes and put San Bernardino in control of the game.
DuBois Williams finished with 13 points and game highs of 11 rebounds and three steals for the Coyotes. Tyson chipped in 12 points, and Devin Montgomery scored 10.
Argenal finished with 10 points and a season-high 10 assists for Chico State.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday night as they host the Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona. Tipoff at 5:30 p.m. 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 Web site. You can also follow the action with Live Stats, located on the Wildcats Web site.
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