Box Score LOS ANGELES – Two of the nation’s heavyweight defenses exchanged haymakers Friday night at the Eagles Nest. The Chico State men’s basketball team had Cal State L.A. wobbly for much of the night, but swung and missed too many times from the free throw line in the second half and couldn’t connect with the last-second knockout blow in a 54-53 loss.
Rashad Parker’s layup with 5:36 remaining gave Chico Sate a 51-46 edge. But that proved to be the Wildcats’ last field goal of the night. They missed their final seven shots and two of their four free throws down the stretch.
Chico State had a chance to tie or take the lead on four occasions in the final 50 seconds but came up empty each time.
First, Amir Carraway went to the line with the Wildcats down two with 50 seconds remaining. He made the first free throw, but the second rolled off. It was the team’s seventh missed charity in 11 second-half tries.
Still down one, Chico State’s 5th-ranked scoring defense in the nation got a stop and Jordan Barton brought down the rebound with 16 seconds to play. But the Wildcats faced the daunting task of getting the game winner against the nation’s 4th-ranked scoring defense. Damario Sims’ driving attempt rimmed out with six seconds left and Barton’s desperation tip try was errant. The Wildcats got one last reprieve when the Golden Eagles were called for traveling with 2.2 seconds left during the scramble for the loose rebound.
But the Wildcats never got that game-winning attempt up. Sims’ inbounds pass went to Jordan Semple near the top of the arc. He turned and passed to Carraway, but the clock expired before he could get off a shot.
Both teams are now 8-5 overall and part of a three-way tie for fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings at 5-4. Cal State Dominguez Hills, the third team in that logjam, hosts the Wildcats Saturday night at 7:30.
Parker paced the Wildcats in scoring for the fourth time in the last six games with 16 points, and Carraway contributed 10. Jordan Semple had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
Jason Conrad finished with eight points, two blocked shots and a trio of steals for Chico State. However, the Wildcats’ 7-footer was forced to leave the game after sustaining cuts to his face and forehead when Jordan Richard fouled him hard on a dunk attempt with 5:12 to play.
Still, that may have been when the Wildcats really had Cal State L.A. on the ropes. Richards’ foul was ruled intentional, giving Chico State a golden opportunity to build on its three-point lead with two free throws and ball. But Carraway made only one of two, and then Parker missed a 3 and Barton turned it over after corralling the rebound.
It turns out it was Richard who had delivered the knockout blow. The Wildcats were outscored 6-2 after Chico State’s big man left the floor.
