SAN FRANCISCO – The Chico State men’s basketball team was definitely dealin’ from downtown Thursday night against San Francisco State, becoming the first Wildcat team since the 2009-10 season to connect on 12 3-pointers in a game. Turns out the ’Cats needed every one of those treys, as the Gators rallied to pull within a bucket late in the second half, but Chico State withstood the challenge to win its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference opener 72-66 at The Swamp on the campus of San Francisco State.
The win moved the Wildcats to 5-0 overall, marking the first time since the 1942-43 season a Chico State men’s basketball team has won its first five decisions. San Francisco State, which beat Division I Jacksonville State earlier in the week, fell to 2-6 on the season and 0-2 in CCAA play.
Jay Flores hit three 3-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points; Damario Sims also drained a trio of treys to finish with 17 points to go along with nine assists and six rebounds, while Sean Park added 17 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats. San Francisco State’s Nefi Perdomo led all scorers with 25 points.
Chico State possessed a hot shooting hand in the first half, sinking nearly 55 percent of its shots, but San Francisco State was successful on 54 percent of its attempts. A Flores 3-pointer and a Jordan Barton free throw snapped an early nine-all tie and put the Wildcats up by four, but the lead was short-lived as the Gators went on a 9-0 run to go out in front 18-13. The ’Cats answered with a Flores layup and a three-point play by Amir Carraway to tie the contest at 18, only to see San Francisco State go back on top 22-19. Sims knotted things up with a 3-pointer, and a three-point play by Park along with a 3-point bucket by Carraway pushed Chico State back in the lead at 28-24. The Gators answered with an 8-3 run to go up 32-31, but a 3-pointer by Park with four seconds left in the period gave the Wildcats a 34-32 halftime lead.
Flores got Chico State rolling with a 3-pointer to open the second half, then followed a Sims jumper with another trey to give the Wildcats a 42-34 lead. With the ’Cats up by five, Chico State used 3-pointers by Sims and James Staniland to spark a 9-0 run and extend its advantage to 51-37. San Francisco State crept to within eight points, but 3-pointers by Sims and Park helped the Wildcats regain their double-digit lead at 63-51 with 5:48 to play. The Gators weren’t ready to throw in the towel, though, scoring 13 of the next 16 points to pull to within 66-64 with 1:36 to go. San Francisco State had a chance to tie or take the lead with under a minute to play, but James Albright turned the ball over by charging into Sims, who promptly went to the other end of the floor and tipped in a missed Flores 3-point attempt to make it 68-64 with 22 seconds remaining. Flores and Park each hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds, and Chico State would hang on and register the “W” with a 72-66 victory.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats will be in southern California Saturday for a CCAA matchup with the Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
