ARCATA – Jay Flores wheeled around Jordan Semple’s screen at the top of the arc and planted his right foot to cut hard with a dribble toward the hoop before attacking the rim with a right-handed scoop shot at full speed. The ball kissed the glass (The sweetest kiss in the Greg Clink era of Chico State men’s basketball.) and fell through the net. Flores’ game-winning bucket with four seconds left lifted the Wildcats to a 65-63 win at 8th-ranked Humboldt State Saturday night in Arcata, giving Chico State its first win there since 1988 and perhaps the biggest win in Clink’s four seasons as head coach.
The senior forward Flores did not blow kisses to the 1,532 fans in attendance on his way off the floor in Arcata for perhaps the final time. But he might have thought about it. He was certainly feeling good.
“This is (our) biggest win so far,” Clink told Mike Baca of Newstalk 1290-KPAY following the game. “…Where else is this type of energy and animosity against Chico State? I think this is one of the most exciting venues in college basketball. So, yea, this is sweet.”
The Wildcats improved to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Humboldt State fell to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the CCAA.
The Wildcats had lost all 12 of their games against the Lumberjacks in Arcata since that win in 1998. And they hadn’t beaten them at all in 12 meetings since 2004, an 87-84 win the year before Humboldt State joined Chico State in the CCAA.
Amir Carraway posted 18 points by knocking down four-of-five threes to lead the Wildcats in scoring. Back at home for the first time in a collegiate uniform, Arcata High School product Jordan Semple snagged a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with seven points.
“Since summer I’ve had this date circled,” said the redshirt freshman Semple. “Every single day I’ve been working to beat these guys. I’ve been thinking about this game every day.”
Now he and his teammates will remember it fondly. The Wildcats actually trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Carraway kept them in the game by hitting all four of his three-point attempts and scoring 15 points before intermission. Two of those treys came in the final 4:32 of the half keying a 13-4 run capped by Flores’ offensive rebound and put-back at the buzzer.
Chico State held Humboldt State without a field goal for more than eight minutes during a second-half stretch to turn a 50-49 deficit into a 58-51 lead. But their own drought, which lasted nearly five minutes, kept them from putting the game away.
Sean Park’s clutch 3-pointer on a kick out from Carraway put the Wildcats ahead 63-58 with 1:35 to play before the Lumberjacks’ Austin Bryan answered 25 seconds later to trim the lead back to two.
After Carraway missed a 3-pointer, Brandon Sperling sprung for a game-tying dunk with 26 seconds left, setting the stage for Flores’ fantastic finish.
Park finished with 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Flores and Jason Conrad chipped in eight points each.
The Wildcats will now look to kiss their five game conference road swing goodbye with a win at Sonoma State on Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 in Rohnert Park. They will then play nine of their next 11 conference games at Acker Gym. That stretch includes a rematch with the Lumberjacks on Feb. 28.
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