Box Score You can count on D. Just ask Chico State Men’s Basketball Coach Greg Clink. He says it virtually every time he’s interviewed. But there was no need following Friday night’s 64-61 win against Cal State San Bernardino. His team had already made his point loud and clear.

Clink preaches that offense can get hot and cold, but defense should never slump. And the Wildcats’ offense was certainly streaky Friday. But their defense was solid throughout. So when the Wildcats went the final 7:04 without a field goal, they relied on their defense to nail down the important win.

The Coyotes have rallied four times from deficits in the final five minutes this season. But they shot just 4-for-11 during that final seven minutes, including Brian Goins’ contested 3-point attempt (Damario Sims had a hand in his face) at the buzzer that would have tied the game.

Amir Carraway helped keep the Coyotes from rallying with a pair of important blocked shots. His second, a thunderous throw back of Lacy Haddock’s breakaway dunk attempt, was the night’s defensive highlight before the nearly flawless final 27 seconds in which the Wildcats forced San Bernardino to settle for two low-percentage shots from Goins.

Jason Conrad and Jordan Barton also provided important blocked shots as the Wildcats held Cal State San Bernardino to just 35 percent shooting and 15 points below their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)-leading scoring average.

Carraway hit all nine of his free throw attempts and finished with 16 points. Rashad Parker poured in 11 in just 17 minutes off the bench. And Jordan Semple just missed a double double with 10 points and nine boards.

The Wildcats have now won four straight against the perennial CCAA powerhouse. They’ve held the Coyotes to two of their three lowest scoring outputs this season, and in 2011-12, held them to two of their four lowest scores.

More importantly, the win kept the Wildcats in a tie for fifth place and just one game behind Cal State L.A. in the CCAA standings with five games to play. The Golden Eagles currently control the fourth spot and the first-round home CCAA Championship Tournament game that goes with it. Third-place San Francisco State is also back in the Wildcats’ sights. The Gators are two games up on the Wildcats but must still play first-place Cal Poly Pomona and second-place Cal State San Bernardino.

Chico State is now 12-9 overall and 9-8 in the CCAA. The Wildcats are also 23-5 at home over the last two seasons. The Wildcats host UC San Diego Saturday night. The Tritons were among three teams (including Chico State) tied for fifth heading into Friday night’s action, but lost at Cal State Stanislaus to fall into seventh.

Cal State San Bernardino, which came into the game unbeaten in conference road action, fell to 15-5 overall and 13-4 in the CCAA. The loss dealt a serious blow to the Coyotes’ CCAA title aspirations. They now trail Cal Poly Pomona by three games with five to play.

The lead changed hands seven times in the first eight minutes before the Wildcats wrestled it away for good when Parker connected on a 3-pointer and Semple followed with a three-point play.

Drew Kitchen buckets twice gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the half – 10 points – and they went to the locker room leading 40-32.

The key to the Wildcats’ first-half success was the way it limited Kwame Alexander and Brian Goins, the CCAA’s second and fourth leading scorers, respectively. They were a combined 2-for-15 in the first half against the Wildcats’ impressive zone defense.

Alexander was king in the second half, scoring 14 of the Coyotes’ 29 points on 5-of-6 shooting. But Goins, who averaged 16 points per game entering the weekend, never got going. He missed 6 of 9 shots in the second stanza and finished with 11 points on 4-of-18 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ lead hovered between five and 12 points for the majority of the second stanza. Carraway’s and-one gave Chico State a 57-49 edge with 7:04 left. Park then pick-pocketed Goins and passed ahead to Carraway. He was fouled and made both free throws to stretch the lead to 10.

From the Coyotes chipped away. The lead was four with 1:48 left when Parker made a pair of free throws. But Goins’ 24-foot 3-pointer with 1:36 left drew the Coyotes to within one basket for the first time since midway through the first half.

Park grabbed an offensive rebound after his own miss to milk some clock and then Conrad nearly gave the Wildcats another possession when he back tipped Carraway’s missed 3-pointer. Sims ran it down at mid-court but was whistled for over and back with 27 seconds left setting the stage for the Wildcats’ final defensive stand.