TURLOCK – Brand new season. Same old comeback ’Cats. The Chico State men’s basketball team rallied from down 15 with 15 minutes to play to beat Cal State Stanislaus 64-59 on the road in the season and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener for both teams Thursday night at Fitzpatrick Arena.
“It’s going to be a fun three-hour ride home,” Wildcats Head Coach Greg Clink told ESPN Radio’s Mike Baca immediately following the game.
It was a fun two-hour ride on the couch for Chico State’s fans who were listening at home. But a ride they’ve grown to expect from Clink’s crew. The Wildcats came back from 17 points down with 19 minutes left to beat Cal State Monterey Bay on the road in last season’s CCAA opener. They rallied from 14 down with 4:27 to go to beat eventual National Champion Cal Poly Pomona at home almost exactly one month later. And they trailed Cal State Dominguez Hills by 11 with 10 minutes to play in the opening round of last year’s CCAA Championship Tournament before pulling off the upset victory.
And those were just three of the Wildcats’ seven second-half comebacks last season.
Thursday marked the first for the 2010-11 team, picked in the preseason by CCAA coaches to finish fifth in the conference. A 34-13 Cal State Stanislaus run put the Warriors in control, up 46-31 with 15 minutes to play.
But it only took three minutes for the Wildcats to claw back to within striking distance. Jay Flores flushed a pair of 3-pointers, Josh Jackson’s steal lead to a Terence Pellum layup, and then Sean Park hit a free throw and reverse layup to cut the lead to 48-42 with 12 minutes to go.
Cal State Stanislaus, picked to finish seventh in the CCAA under second year Head Coach Larry Reynolds, stemmed the tide for a moment with Mactar Gueye’s layup. But the Wildcats scored the next nine points, capped by consecutive 3s from Flores and Zach Graves, to give Chico State it’s first lead of the second half.
It didn’t last, as the Warriors would re-take the lead a minute later. Chico State tied it twice over the next four minutes, but couldn’t regain the lead until Pellum’s bucket with 3:35 to play gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
“I was so proud of the way we gutted it out at the end. I’m just really proud, not just that we start the season with a win, but that it was a character win,” said Clink. “There was a danger in playing this game so early, so to be able to walk out of here with a road CCAA win in the first game of the year, it can’t feel any better.”
Flores finished with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals, and just one turnover in a game-high 39 minutes of action.
“He’s so good,” said Clink. “He’s such a leader. He’s everything you could ask for from a kid.”
Like a good point guard, Flores also gives it up to his teammates.
“We had a stretch when we weren’t very good. But eventually we chipped away and got it done,” said Flores. “We had a lot of guys hit big shots. Terence had some big buckets, Zach hit a big three, and I don’t even know how many big shots Damario hit.”
Sims finished with a team-high 14 points, including the dagger 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining that put the Wildcats up 62-57. Pellum and the redshirt freshman Park, playing in his first collegiate game, scored 12 points apiece. Roderick Hawkins chipped in seven points and seven rebounds.
Reggie Jones scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to pace Cal State Stanislaus.
The Wildcats will now return home to Chico alone atop the CCAA standings – a place they’ve rarely or never been since joining the conference in 1998. Their home opener is Monday night against Bethany College and they host the 51st Mac Martin Invitational Nov. 26-27.
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