CHICO – The Chico State men’s basketball team got the 2011-12 season off to a positive start, utilizing a 20-0 second half run to down Alaska-Fairbanks 84-73 Saturday afternoon in first day action at the 52nd annual Mac Martin Tournament. Amir Carraway and Sean Park both registered double-doubles as the Wildcats won their first regular season outing for the third straight year.
Carraway led all scorers with 21 points to go along with 12 rebounds, while Park racked up 12 points and a game-high 13 boards. Damario Sims knocked down three 3-pointers en route to a 13-point afternoon, while Jordan Semple added eight points, two assists and two steals for the victorious Wildcats. Dominique Brinson connected for four 3-pointers and led Alaska-Fairbanks with 19 points in the Nanooks’ season opener; Stefan Tica and Jarrett Miller contributed 15 points apiece in the losing effort.
Early on, Chico State looked like it was going to run away with the contest as Carraway scored the first eight points of the game, with a Jason Conrad layup putting the Wildcats up 10-0. Alaska-Fairbanks answered with eight unanswered points, and eventually caught the ’Cats at 20-all midway through the first half. The two teams went scoreless for nearly four minutes before Jay Flores railed a 3-pointer to put Chico State back on top, and the Wildcats held a 31-26 lead with 3:07 left in the period. The Nanooks held the ’Cats scoreless for the remainder of the half, while utilizing a pair of layups and two Miller free throws to take a 32-31 advantage at intermission.
Alaska-Fairbanks extended its lead to 47-42 early in the second half, but then the Chico State defense went into official clamp-down mode, holding the Nanooks to just one field goal over a six-and-a-half minute stretch. The Wildcat offense, meantime, got back on track, scoring 20 unanswered points – Carraway, Semple, Jordan Barton and Sam Hicks leading the charge – to give Chico State a 62-47 lead. Alaska-Fairbanks was able to whittle the deficit to five with 6:53 remaining, but that would be as close as the Nanooks would get, as Sims helped push the Wildcats’ lead back to double digits with six points – including a long 3-pointer – to put Chico State up 77-66 with 2:25 left to play. Alaska-Fairbanks again mounted a rally, but Park swished four free throws in the final minute to ice the game and give the Wildcats the 84-73 victory.
BOX SCORE
Chico State is back in action Sunday, wrapping up the Mac Martin Tournament with an afternoon tilt against Academy of Art. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
San Francisco State 93, Academy of Art 61
The Gators opened up the Mac Martin Tournament and their 2011-12 season with a torrent of 3-pointers Saturday afternoon, connecting on 16 of 21 shots from behind the arc to blast Academy of Art, 93-61. Thomas Nesbitt (22 points) and Nefi Perdomo (21) each knocked down six treys on the day, with David Love adding 12 points for San Francisco State; William Overton, Jr. led the Urban Knights with 20 points and seven rebounds.
BOX SCORE
The Gators will play their second Mac Martin contest Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. against Alaska-Fairbanks.
