SEASIDE – Acker Gym is the place to be in Chico for the next two weekends. The Chico State men’s basketball team is coming home for a four-game homestand in a tie for first place just over halfway through the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule after an 82-61 win at Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday night at the Kelp Bed.
Damario Sims led four Wildcats in double figures with 16 points and Jordan Semple was scintillating, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Amir Carraway contributed 13 points and Jay Flores finished with 10 as the Wildcats improved to 14-4 overall and 8-4 in the CCAA with their third straight win and seventh in their last eight games.
Now take a quick trip to www.goccaa.org and you’ll find an unfamiliar name atop the men’s basketball standings – Chico State. The Wildcats have neve
r been in first place this late in the season since joining the CCAA in 1998.
“I am not a guy who looks at the standings a lot. I’ll look at them at the end of the weekend and then I don’t think too much about them because it will drive me crazy,” Wildcats Head Coach Greg Clink told Mike Baca on KPAY 1290-AM following the game. “But it definitely feels good to be in first.”
With the freshman duo of Semple and Jordan Barton and eight more underclassmen who all combined for 68 points, 28 rebounds, and five blocked shots looking so good, Clink’s ’Cats hope to spend some more nights the penthouse in the coming years.
But for the first time in many years, the talk surrounding the Wildcats is about the present instead of the future.
That’s because the Wildcats’ offense is starting to match its defensive excellence. They entered the weekend ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense. But offense was the story of this weekend. Friday’s outcome, coupled with their 93-76 throttling of Cal State East Bay on Friday night, gave the Wildcats 80 or more points in consecutive CCAA games for the first time since 2007 and their highest total in consecutive games since 2005.
“I feel like our defense has been getting better and better and better and better,” said Clink. “So the last few weeks we’ve put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get better offensively. And I think you saw the fruits of that this weekend.”
The Wildcats shot 51 percent against Cal State Monterey Bay, including 47 percent from 3-point range. They also knocked down 77 percent of their free throws while getting scores from 11 different players.
The first half belonged two the freshman duo of Barton and Semple, who came off the bench to combine for 18 points before the break.
“The two Jordan’s are spectacular right now,” said Clink. “They’ve been so consistent with what they do. Of course they still make freshmen mistakes… Semple is getting so good. And Barton – when he’s on and he’s sharp and good with his footwork, he can get his shot off against anyone down there.”
Damario Sims has no problem getting a shot of either. The junior scored 11 in the second half and chipped in three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot as the Wildcats turned a six-point halftime lead into a runaway win. His 3-pointer stretched Chico State’s lead to 11 with 9:46 to play. He assisted on a Josh Jackson 3 that made it a 12-point game with 5:36 left. And his jumper with 4:21 remaining came in the midst of a 9-0 run that sealed the Wildcats’ win with which they’ve ascended into first place.
If the Wildcats are to remain there, they’ll have to beat a Sonoma State that helped get them there by beating Cal State San Bernardino Saturday behind Will Olsem’s 38 points on 12 3-pointers. The Seawolves, who handed the Wildcats a 61-54 loss in Rohnert Park on Dec. 19, will be in town on Friday night. One of the four teams the Wildcats are tied first first with, Humboldt State visits Acker Gym on Saturday.
“Every weekend is a big weekend,” Clink jabbed at Baca after reminding him that he’s said that every weekend since Clink too the reigns of the program three-plus years ago. But truthfully there hasn’t been a weekend quite as big at Acker Gym since Clink was a player and then coach on the 1990-94 teams that won four straight Northern California Athletic Conference titles.
GAME NOTES – Chico State’s 14-4 record through 18 games is its best since 1993 and tied for the third best in school history…With their two wins this weekend, the Wildcats remained undefeated when; shooting a higher field-goal percentage than their opponents (12-0), shooting 45 percent or better from the field (10-0), shooting 30 percent or better from 3-point range (10-0), and scoring 80 or more points (5-0)…They’re now 36-5 under Greg Clink’s watch when shooting a higher percentage than their opponents…The Wildcats have still not allowed an opponent to score its season average in regulation this season…Flores’ second-half steal (the 109th of his career) moved him past Wildcats assistant coach Tim Haley into fourth on the school’s all-time list…Semple is averaging 10.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game over his last six…Jason Conrado, who blocked three shots Saturday, has now rejected 11 in the last six games and needs just one more to move into the team’s career top 10…Chico State has won three straight in Seaside.
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