SAN FRANCISCO – On the night that Rod Hawkins became just the third player in Chico State history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds, San Francisco State decided to spoil the moment, though the Gators needed overtime to beat the Wildcats 64-62 Friday night at The Swamp. The ’Cats, despite 20 points from Hawkins and Damario Sims, dropped their regular season finale and will need to regroup quickly before heading into opening round action Tuesday in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament.
With Friday’s loss, Chico State wraps up the regular season with a 14-12 overall record, and finishes seventh in the CCAA with a 10-12 conference record. While the official announcement has not been made, it appears that the Wildcats has earned the No. 7 seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament. Chico State will need to win three straight and take the tournament crown to move on to the NCAA West Regionals. San Francisco State concludes the regular season 16-10 overall and in fourth place in the CCAA with a 14-8 conference record.
With his double-digit scoring performance, Hawkins – who also pulled down eight rebounds Friday – joins Aaron Martella and Jim Schreiner as the only members of the Wildcats’ exclusive “1,000-500” club. Sims hit four 3-pointers en route to his 20-point night, while Jay Flores scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Wildcats. Winston Demmin led San Francisco State with 15 points and 14 boards; Ralph Nevarez and Phoenix O’Rourke chipped in with 11 apiece for the victorious Gators.
Chico State, on the strength of two Sims 3-pointers, jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. San Francisco State responded with seven unanswered points to go up 10-7, then both teams went nearly four minutes without a score. The Wildcats finally broke the drought, with a Hawkins three-point play and another trey by Sims bookending a 6-1 Chico State run to put the ’Cats back on top 13-11. With the score tied at 15-all, a Demmin three-point play put the Gators in front 18-15, and San Francisco State would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the period, pushing its advantage to seven on three occasions, eventually going into halftime up 29-22.
A pair of jumpers by Flores cut the decifit to four early in the second half, but with the score 31-27, San Francisco State ripped off 10 straight points to extend its advantage to 41-27. Hawkins scored seven of Chico State’s nine unanswered points to pull to within 41-36, but the Gators quickly converted two free throws and a layup to go up 45-36. Hawkins again put the Wildcat offense on his back, scoring nine points in a 12-4 Chico State run to pull to within 49-48 with 4:45 left to play. San Francisco State scored a bucket, but the ’Cats answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Flores and Sean Park to take a 54-51 lead. The Wildcats were still in front 55-53 with 1:05 to go, but Demmin hit a pair of free throws to tie up the game. San Francisco State had the ball with under 30 seconds left, but turned the ball over, giving Chico State a chance to win in regulation. Sims threw up a baseline runner at the buzzer, but couldn’t connect, sending the contest into overtime.
The Gators scored the first six points of OT, and the Wildcats did nothing but undercut their cause by missing five straight free throws in the extra period. Despite their struggles at the four line, a Terence Pellum layup and a Sims 3-pointer pulled the ’Cats to within 63-60, and with five seconds left, Sims was fouled. He made both charity tosses to cut the deficit to one, and Chico State quickly fouled Nefi Perdomo. The Gator guard made one of two, giving the Wildcats one last possession. But with time running out, a half-court shot by Flores was off the mark, and San Francisco State held on for the 64-62 overtime win.
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Chico State will be in action Tuesday night in the opening round of the CCAA Championship Tournament. For official listings of seeds, matchups, times and game locations, visit the CCAA website at www.goccaa.org.
