Sean Park is 12 points shy of moving past Chico State men's basketball great Aaron Martella into 11th place in Wildcats' career scoring. But Park is more interested in matching another of the Hall of Famer's impressive credentials.
Martella was a key contributor the last and only time the program produced three straight NCAA Championship Tournament berths in 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93. He's still winning as the President of Grower Direct Nut Co.
Park is the leading scorer on this season's talented 12-4 team at 15.9 points per game and one of seven Wildcats who have been part of NCAA Championship Tournament teams in each of the past two seasons. He's hoping to help the Wildcats get two steps closer to a return trip when they host long-time Northern California rivals Sonoma State and San Francisco State this Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Tipoff for both games is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
Park has been on a career-best scoring binge of late, averaging 19.5 points over the Wildcats' last four games and 17.3 over the last 10. He became the 13th Chico State player to eclipse 1,000 career points two weeks ago and passed former teammate Roderick Hawkins on the list last weekend.
He had one of his best performances of the season in a 79-68 win at Sonoma State on Dec. 7, scoring 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He was held to a season-low five points the night before in a 67-50 win against San Francisco State in which he played just 12 minutes because of foul trouble.
The Wildcats take an 8-4 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) record into the weekend and stand alone in third place. Cal State San Bernardino (12-0) and Cal Poly Pomona (11-1) will play for fist place on Saturday night.
San Francisco State (9-6 overall) is in a three-way tie for fourth place at 7-5. Sonoma State is tied for 11th, but the Seawolves have won two of their last four games to improve to 3-13 overall and 2-10 in the CCAA. Eight of their losses have come by four points or fewer.
Both games will be broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290 KPAY-AM and simulcast on the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats will also be available for both games.
