A mere minute of Amir Carraway helped turn the tide for the Chico State men’s basketball team in a 68-55 win against visiting UC San Diego Friday night at Acker Gym. The freshman forward from Franklin High School (Vallejo) stepped onto the floor in a tie game to give Roderick Hawkins a well-deserved rest during his strong second half. Carraway immediately drove from the left wing, jump stopped, and then pivoted to create space before knocking down a short baseline jumper to give the Wildcats the lead. He then blocked a shot, leading to Jason Conrad’s dunk, and the Wildcats never looked back.
His bucket (the first of his career) and block were key. So was the rest he afforded Hawkins, the man he’s currently studying under. Hope he was watching Friday night. Hawkins controlled the second half, scoring 11 of his team-high 18 points on an array of drives and jumpers, and also pulled down four boards, helping the Wildcats outscore UC San Diego 36-24 after intermission.
Carraway’s co-freshman, Sean Park, also shined Friday in his first career start. Park pitched in 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and turned the ball over just once in 32 minutes.
The Wildcats moved into sole possession of sixth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with the win, improving to 8-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They also beat UC San Diego for the fourth time in a row.
UC San Diego, which led 39-36 early in the second half, fell to 8-5 overall and 3-4 in the CCAA. The Tritons got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Christian Hatch and Casey Ryan chipped in 13 points and nine boards. However, they missed 11-of-22 free throws, including five-of-nine during a second-half in which they were outrebounded 19-12.
Chico State used a 23-10 run spanning a large chunk of the second half to take control of the game. Hatch and Ryan had given the Tritons that 39-36 lead with two buckets apiece in the early moments of the second half. But Park scored on consecutive possessions to help spark the run in which Hawkins had seven points and a number of other Wildcats contributed big buckets (Carraway, Conrad and Damario Sims to name a few).
Hawkins’ free throw and jumper on back-to-back possessions put the Wildcats in front 59-49 with 4:38, and when Hatch missed a pair of free throws on the Tritons’ next possession and they missed the front end of a one-and-one after that, they were in dire straights.
They were forced to foul down the stretch and the Wildcats were 9-of-10 from the line in the final 1:43 to secure the win.
Jay Flores hit 7-of-8 of those free throws and finished with 15 points. Sims added eight points and a career-high five assists. Terence Pellum combated his first rough shooting night of the season (3-of-10) with seven points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Conrad, much like Carraway did for Hawkins, let Pellum rest easy. The 7-footer contributed four points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 13 minutes.
The Wildcats will return to Acker Gym Saturday night to host Cal State East Bay (2-9, 0-7 CCAA). UC San Diego will wrap up its weekend road swing with a game at Cal State Stanislaus (4-7, 2-5 CCAA).
BOX SCORE
GAME NOTES – When holding opponents to fewer than 60 points, the Wildcats are 6-0 this season and 17-2 in the Clink era…This was the 15th time in Clink’s career that the Wildcats came from behind in the second half to win…The Wildcats have now attempted as many or more free throws than their opponents in nine of 11 games this season…UC San Diego’s eight wins already match last season’s win total for the Tritons, who played just one senior and two juniors Friday… The Wildcats can match their best record through 12 games since the 1942-43 team started 10-2 with a win Saturday. Five teams have started 9-3 since then, including last year’s squad…The Wildcats can also match last season’s team for the most home wins since the 2004-05 team won 11 with a win Saturday…Hawkins, adept at getting to the line, moved into sixth on the school’s career made free throws list Friday. After making 4-of-6, he’s now made 249 in his career.
