Box Score ROHNERT PARK – Sean Park and Rashad Parker turned the Wolves' Den into their own Candy Land® in the Chico State men's basketball team's sweet 79-68 win against Sonoma State in Rohnert Park.
The Seawolves had no Clue!® how to stop the pair. Park matched his career high with 24 points and Parker turned in a season-high 23 (including 11 in a row during a first-half run that gave the Wildcats the lead for good) as the Wildcats won their fifth straight to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Park and Parker combined to shoot 16-for-28 and contributed seven rebounds and seven assists without a turnover.
Amir Carraway chipped in 14 points and a season-high seven rebounds as the Wildcats won their fourth straight against the rival Seawolves. Two of those wins have come in Rohnert Park where they've won three times in the last four years.
Sorry!®.
Saturday's game started like many of those 11 losses did. Sonoma State (1-5, 0-2 CCAA) sprinted to an 18-7 lead. But attempting to check Parker proved to be a fruitless Operation®. The senior guard Scrabble®d the Sonoma State defense during a solo 11-0 run, scoring a layup and then three straight 3-pointers (Bingo®!) to turn a six-point deficit into a 35-30 lead with three minutes left in the half.
Park, who scored 12 points in the first half, gave the Seawolves' defense just as much Trouble®. The senior scored a dozen more during an early second-half Sequence®. His fourth 3-pointer of the game gave the Wildcats their first double-digit advantage at 58-47 with 12:28 to play.
Chico State led by eight or more from that point on. Carraway and Parker combined to make 11 consecutive free throws in the latter stages of the game. In fact, of the Wildcats' last 13 free throw attempts, know how many they missed? Uno®. That completed the sinking of the Sonoma State Battleship®.
Chico State's coaching staff will now try to move the Chess® pieces around this week as the Wildcats prepare to host Cal State Stanislaus next Saturday night. The Warriors handed the Wildcats their lone loss of the season, 80-78 in overtime, on Nov. 16 in Turlock.
The teams are in a two-way tie for third place in the CCAA. It should be quite a game.
