Box Score The regulars on the Chico State men’s basketball team got front row seats to root on some of their favorite players Friday night – their hard-working teammates who rarely log lengthy minutes.
The Wildcats’ 80-52 rout of North Valley rival Simpson University of Redding allowed Head Coach Greg Clink to give liberal minutes to his reserves, who responded with 48 points. The loudest cheers of the night came from the Chico State bench for guys like Connor McGrath, Chris Magalotti, Sam Hicks and Jake Lovisolo.
In fact, Hicks’ hammer dunk on a McGrath feed and Magalotti’s mash off a Drew Kitchen dime were easily the highlights of the night for the players used to being in Clink’s rotation, none of whom played more than 20 minutes Friday.
Chico State raced to a 21-4 lead and never let Simpson into the game while improving to 4-3 on the season with the non-conference win. Simpson fell to 3-11.
James Staniland stuck a trio of 3-pointers and led Chico State with 14 points in 14 minutes while Amir Carraway contributed 12 points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals. Magalotti managed four points, four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in just six minutes of action, Hicks had three points and five boards in 10 minutes, and McGrath amassed three points and two assists in a dozen minutes.
Thirteen different Wildcats scored, 13 grabbed at least one rebound, and nine dished out at least one assist.
The Wildcats worked their way into the paint all night and were awarded with whistles for their aggressiveness. They made 31 of 39 free throws (79.5%), which is percentage points higher than the 78.4 percent they were shooting entering the night – seventh highest in the nation.
The Wildcats were also ranked sixth in the nation in points allowed per game (56.8) and improved on that number.
They’ll try to keep improving when they travel to face Cal State Stanislaus on Dec. 29 in Turlock in a conference affair. Chico State returns home for more conference games on Jan. 4-5 to continue two of their longest-running rivalries against Sonoma State and San Francisco State, respectively.
