The Wildcats played like they had olives on their fingers. Wait a second… It was Lindsay Olives night at Acker Gym… Hmmmmm.

CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW OF THE GAME.

And yum for the 1,154 in attendance who walked away with a free can of olives. That was certainly the highlight of their evening. Cal State L.A. opened up a can itself, crushing the Wildcats 71-53 Saturday night.

The Wildcats dropped their fifth game in the last six and fell into a tie for seventh place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) at 6-8. They’re 10-8 overall. State L.A., which entered the night stumbling as well, improved to 12-6 overall and 8-6 in the CCAA.

The Golden Eagles weren't tripping against the Wildcats. Franklin Session finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Carl Hoffman hit 9-of-12 shots on the way to a game-high 20 points. And David Norris added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Terence Pellum led the Wildcats with 10 points and seven rebounds, but they hit just 16-of-50 shots (32 percent) and got beaten soundly on the boards.

Pellum scored five early points and then Rashad Parker struck for five straight to give the Wildcats a 12-10 lead with 10:57 to play. The next 30 minutes were long and frustrating for the Wildcats and their fans. Cal State L.A. finished the half on a 26-5 run and never led by fewer than 16 until Chico State’s last bucket of the game.

Spencer Moyer, who drilled a 3-pointer and then got deep into the lane and finished with a nice move to cut the lead to 15, gave the home fans something to cheer about. The freshman Parker did as well, scoring seven points and notching three rebounds and a steal.

The Wildcats will now wrap up the regular season with six of their final eight games on the road beginning next Thursday and Saturday at Sonoma State and Humboldt State, respectively. Their postseason fate remains squarely in their hands as they play all four teams behind them in the CCAA standings on the road over the next four weeks and the team directly ahead of them in the standings, Cal Poly Pomona, at home. The top eight teams in the CCAA at the end of the regular season earn a berth into the CCAA Championship Tournament, the winner of which earns at automatic invitational to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

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