Box Score SAN BERNARDINO – Despite the lack of sleep the Chico State men’s basketball team avoided the Southern California sweep. The Wildcats knocked off 15th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino 69-65 Saturday night, bouncing back beautifully from Friday’s frustrating loss at UC San Diego Amir Carraway admitted kept him and his roommate, Damario Sims, awake until “3 or 4 in the morning.”

Carraway piled up more Js than Zs Saturday, hitting 7-of-11 shots on the way to a season-high 19 points. Sims finished with 15 while becoming just the 12th player in Chico State history to eclipse 1,000 career points. Jordan Semple finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and a career-best five blocked shots in just his second collegiate start And Rashad Parker scored 12 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 56 seconds left.

Carraway’s 3-point play two-plus minutes into the second half wrestled the lead from the Coyotes for good. San Bernardino would tie the game on two separate occasions but Parker pushed the Wildcats back ahead each time, the first time with a 3-pointer and the second time with those crucial free throws that gave Chico State a 67-65 edge.

Cal State San Bernardino had a chance to tie the game with Lacy Haddock shooting two at the line with seven seconds left. But he missed them both and Semple knocked down two free throws after corralling the rebound to put the game way.

The win – Chico State’s fourth ever against the Coyotes in San Bernardino and second straight – pushed the Wildcats to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The fourth-place Wildcats trail conference leader Cal Poly Pomona by two games and Cal State San Bernardino (8-3 overall and 6-2 in the CCAA) and San Francisco State by one.

Cal State San Bernardino entered the weekend ranked sixth in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 43.6 percent and shooting 45.2 percent overall. But Chico State’s third-ranked scoring defense held the Coyotes to just 35 percent shooting overall and 29 percent (6-of-21) from beyond the arc.

Part of their success was due to 10 blocked shots, just one off the school record. Semple’s five are the most by a Wildcat in the Greg Clink era and Jason Conrad matched his career high with four rejections.

Sims entered the game needing just one point to reach 1,000 in his career and wasted no time getting there, knocking down a 3-pointer 17 seconds into the game. But despite his two early triples, the Wildcats were behind 24-14 midway through the half.

They surged back into the lead with a 13-2 run capped by Drew Kitchens’ 3-pointer before settling for a 30-all tie heading into intermission.

The Coyotes took their final lead, 35-33, on Haddock’s jumper with 17:38 remaining. But Chico State reserve point guard Mike Rosaroso assisted on three straight baskets during an 11-2 run that gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the night, 51-41.

Cal State San Bernardino chipped away at the lead, finally tying the game at 65-all with 1:07 remaining before Parker drew a foul on an aggressive drive, earning the free throws that gave the Wildcats the lead for good.

Chico State heads home Sunday before returning to Southern California to face Cal State L.A. Friday night and Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday. Both of those teams are part of a three-way logjam for fifth place in the CCAA, one game behind the Wildcats.

Sims is the 12th player in Chico State history to top 1,000 career points and joins Deon Robinson as the only two Wildcats in the 1,000 point club also boasting more than 200 career assists.

Chico State’s 1,000-Point Club
1567 Scott Land 2001-05
1468 Vere Butler 1948-52
1445 Tommie Tipton 1944-48
1439 Andy Bocian 2005-09  
1351 Deon Robinson 1997-01
1151 Ken Piercy 1952-56   
1137 Jim Schreiner 1974-78   
1113 Jason Van Eck 2001-05
1079 Aaron Martella 1990-94
1037 Rod Hawkins 2007-11
1014 Damario Sims 2009-13

Chico State’s 200-Assist Club
582 Justin Argenal 2005-09
497 Deon Robinson 1997-01
387 Jay Flores 2009-12
349 Tim Taylor 1980-84
287 Tim Haley 2003-05
280 Antone Curtis 1991-93
257 Brian Faulstich 2002-04
254 Homer Rivers 1982-84
233 Chico White 1979-82
213 Frank Lopez 1986-88
212 Damario Sims 2009-13
202 Tony Prescott 1992-94