LA JOLLA – Action Jackson helped the Chico State men’s basketball team get some satisfaction. Josh Jackson and the Wildcats’ oft-beleaguered bench outscored UC San Diego’s 19-2, led an 11-0 run that erased UC San Diego’s eight-point edge, and the Wildcats held on for a 60-56 win at RIMAC Arena Saturday night.
Terence Pellum poked the ball away from Mike Meza, presumably preparing to attempt the game tying 3-pointer with nine seconds left and Jay Flores was fouled a made a free throw to secure the win. Sean Park had given the Wildcats a 59-56 lead with a pair of important free throws with 24 seconds left.
Zach Graves gave the Wildcats a lift off the bench with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. He and Jackson teamed up to score the last six points of the game’s biggest run. Graves had already assisted on Jay Flores’ 3-pointer that made it a three-point game with 16:27 left. Moments later, Jackson got an offensive rebound and put-back. Graves then got the hoop and scored following Amir Carraway’s steal before Jackson jarred another ball loose and went the other way for a bucket that gave the Wildcats a 39-36 lead. It was their largest lead of the game to that point.
In the process of erasing UC San Diego’s eight point lead, the Wildcats helped erase the memories of
Thursday’s loss at Cal State East Bay.
It left the Wildcats in serious danger of missing the postseason all together. But just two nights later, a look at the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings shows the Wildcats in a three-way tie for sixth place at 8-10 with four games to go. They’re 12-10 overall.
Pellum posted a game-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Roderick Hawkins railed 5-of-5 free throws en route to 10 points. And Flores finished with four assists, four steals and only one turnover in 35 minutes.
Christian Hatch led UC San Diego with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but the Tritons’ big man made just 4-of-11 shots, pestered by the defense of Pellum. UC San Diego fell to 10-14 overall and 5-13 in the CCAA with the loss. The Tritons also missed an opportunity to position themselves well for a run at the postseason. Instead, they now trail the Wildcats, Cal State L.A. and Cal State Stanislaus by three games with only four to play for the eighth and final berth in the CCAA Championship Tournament.
Chico State, which surprised many by grabbing the No. 6 seed in last season’s CCAA Championship Tournament, will attempt to match that mark as it wraps up the regular season with home games against Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino next weekend and on the road at Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State Feb. 24-25.
The Wildcats trailed by as many as six in the first half, but Pellum scored twice in the final 47 seconds to take his team to the locker room down just 28-26.
The Tritons came out of the break with an 8-2 run and threatened to take control of the game. It the Wildcats who took control instead… and not the ones you might expect. As reserves Jackson, Graves, Carraway, Jason Conrad and Spencer Moyer entered the game, the Wildcats’ went on an 11-0 run, forcing four turnovers along the way.
UC San Diego staved off the Wildcats for a bit and led 42-39 after a pair of Hatch free throws with 11:57 remaining. Park scored inside seconds later, however, and after his steal, Hawkins hit a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead to stay.
Chico State limited the Tritons to just four field goals between the 17:41 mark, when their lead was at its largest at 36-28, and the 3:09 mark when a Justin Brue jumper brought the Tritons with four at 56-52.
By then it was Chico State that had gone cold. The Wildcats’ lead had grown to 56-48 with 4:57 left following a 28-12 run. But Hawkins’ free throw was the team’s lone point over the next four minutes. Meanwhile, UC San Diego cut the lead to six with a pair of Casey Ryan free throws, to four on Brue’s jumper, to three on James McCann’s jumper with 1:07 left, and then to 57-56 on Ryan’s layup with 29 seconds to play.
Park was fouled with 24 seconds left and sank both free throws, setting up the Wildcats’ big defensive stand. The Tritons tried to get a quick bucket, but after those efforts were thwarted, Meza made a catch beyond the arc. As he was preparing to hoist a potential game tying 3-pointer, Pellum poked the ball away to Flores, who caught it and ran the clock down to three before he was fouled. He made 1-of-2 and the game was through.
GAME NOTES – The Wildcats hold the tiebreaker advantage over Cal State Stanislaus, but not Cal State L.A….Hawkins is now just 31 points shy of becoming the 11th player in Chico State history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Already with 500 rebounds, he would be just the third Chico State player whose posted 500 boards and 1,000 points, joining Aaron Martella (1990-94) and Jim Schreiner (1974-78)…The Wildcats have won five straight against UC San Diego, including the last two meetings at RIMAC Arena…Saturday marked the 17th time in Head Coach Greg Clink’s 34 career wins that the Wildcats came from behind in the second half…With his fourth free throw, Hawkins passed Deon Robinson into third on Chico State’s career made free throws list. He’s now made 308 and needs four more to move past Jason Van Eck into second...In other CCAA news from this weekend, first-place Humboldt State stayed on top by earning its first-ever wins at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino.
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