Box Score Drowning under the smothering pressure of the Cal State Dominguez Hills defense, the Chico State men’s basketball team was in desperate need of a spark. The Wildcats finally got it with a modest 8-4 run in the waning moments of the first half. Head Coach Greg Clink apparently kept it smoldering behind the locker room door, because Wildcats set fire to Acker Gym in the second half on the way to a 76-59 win.
After mustering just 20 points in the game’s first 17 minutes, Chico State scored 56 over the next 23 in winning its eighth straight home game,
improve to 14-9 overall and 11-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), and clinch its fourth consecutive postseason berth.
The Wildcats lit it up from beyond the arc, knocking down seven of their 13 second-half 3-point attempts. Sean Park hit three and Damario Sims, Rashad Parker, James Staniland and Mike Rosaroso one apiece.
Parker led four Wildcats in double-figures with 18 points, Staniland scored 13 on 5-of-7 shooting, Park poured in 12 (11 in the second half), and Amir Carraway contributed 11.
The Wildcats missed 19 of their first 26 shots and trailed 27-20 before Carraway’s free throw with 2:38 left in the half. Carraway and Sims then scored on consecutive inside buckets and Parker nailed a 3-pointer. Things were quickly heating up, but they went to halftime trailing 31-28.
Jordan Semple and Conrad converted on Chico State’s first two possessions of the second half and then the Wildcats took their first lead of the game on Semple’s lay-in with 16:12 remaining.
They took the lead for good when Rosaroso railed a 3 less than a minute later.
Carraway’s three-point play and Parker’s 3-pointer paved the way to an eight-point lead. And by the time Staniland sandwiched a couple long jumpers around a Sims 3, the Wildcats’ lead was 52-39 with 11:11 left.
The Toros twice cut the lead to single digits in the ensuing few minutes, but each time Park answered with a 3-pointer. He then put the game away with another trifecta with 3:38 to play that gave the Wildcats a 69-56 lead.
Chico State’s win, coupled with Sonoma State’s win against Humboldt State, gives the Wildcats a four-game lead over the ninth-place Lumberjacks with three games to go. The top eight teams in the conference earn a berth in the CCAA Championship Tournament.
The Wildcats will play an opening-round CCAA Championship Tournament game on March 5. The only questions that remain are whether they will play that game at home, and what team they'll play.
Chico State is currently one game behind Cal State L.A., Saturday night’s opponent, for a top-four conference finish and the home playoff game that goes along with it. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 7:30. But get there early: Chico State’s five seniors – Conrad, Jake Lovisolo, Spencer Moyer, Sims and Staniland – will be honored in a “Senior Night” ceremony prior to the game.
