Josh Jackson sometimes seems like the forgotten senior. Neifi Perdomo isn't going to forget him any time soon. Jackson, either by using an invisible rope or through sheer will and determination, Darrelle Revis'd perhaps the California Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) most gifted scoring guard, severely limiting his touches. As a result, Perdomo made just one of four shot attempts and the Chico State men's basketball team methodically pulled away from scoring-starved San Francisco State for a 61-44 win.
Jackson, who snagged two steals, also scored a season-high 10 points with a nice array of moves. He split three defenders to get to the rim for his first score, hit a teardrop runner in the lane for another, and also knocked down a 3-pointer.
Sean Park led the first-place Wildcats with 13 points and added five rebounds, three assists and a steal as they won for the 10th time in their last 12
games to improve to 17-5 overall and 11-5 in the CCAA. Jordan Barton finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
The Wildcats entered the night one of five teams tied for first in the CCAA. They'll begin a stretch of four straight road games as one of four. Cal State Dominguez Hills fell at UC San Diego Saturday night. The Tritons also knocked Cal State L.A. out of first place on Friday.
Ironically, while that trend helped the Wildcats' cause this weekend, they hope it ends Friday night when they face UC San Diego in La Jolla before visiting Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.
The Wildcats are now tied with Humboldt State, Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State San Bernardino, all one game
ahead of Cal State Dominguez Hills and Sonoma State.
After playing at San Diego and San Bernardino next weekend, the Wildcats will head back to Southern California to take on Cal State L.A. and Cal State Dominguez Hills the following weekend.
Chico State returns home to play Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay on Feb. 23-24 to wrap up the regular season.
Jackson is the program's lone player remaining from the pre-Greg Clink era. And unlike the team's other senior, Jay Flores, he doesn't start, doesn't shoot much, and isn't an overtly vocal leader. What he is, however, is the Wildcats' best defender. And he proved it again on Saturday.
Perdomo entered the weekend averaging 16.1 points on 12 shots and seven free throw attempts per conference game.
But with Jackson guarding him for most of the night, Perdomo got up only four shots in 27 frustrating minutes. Two were off offensive rebounds (one his and one David Love's) and another came when he grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast to coast. His only other shot was a half-court heave at the first-half buzzer.
In the second half, Jackson played 15 minutes and Perdomo was on the floor for approximately 14 of those. He did not get off a shot, had his only assist of the night, and also had a turnover.
“Josh was awesome tonight,” said Wildcats Head Coach Greg Clink. “He just didn't let him catch the ball.”
Jackson was not alone in his defensive dominance, however. The Wildcats, who entered the season ranked No. 8 in the nation in scoring defense, held San Francisco State to a season low in scoring and forced 16 turnovers. Jordan Semple also blocked three shots and Jason Conrad another.
BOX SCORE
