There's no place like first for the holidays.
 
The Chico State men's basketball team can assure itself a place atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings at the turn of the calendar with a win against Cal State Stanislaus Saturday night in Acker Gym. Off to their best CCAA start ever, the Wildcats will look to improve to 4-0. The Wildcats are currently tied for the conference lead with Sonoma State, which hosts San Francisco State Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
That win won't likely come easily for the Wildcats against a highly-motivated Warriors team, however. Chico State beat Cal State Stanislaus 59-47 Saturday night in Turlock in a rematch of the 2014 NCAA Championship Tournament West Region title game, which the Wildcats won 81-80 thanks to a 20-6 game-ending run.
 
Jordan Semple stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots, two steals and two assists in Saturday night's victory. Corey Silverstrom came off the bench to score 12.
 
Chico State's defense has been the driving force behind its 6-2 start, having allowed only 60.5 points per game, good for 12^th in the nation. The Wildcats have been ever better in CCAA play, limiting opponents to a conference-low 50.7 points per game.
 
Cal State Stanislaus is 5-3 overall and one of four teams tied for third in the CCAA standings at 2-1. The Warriors jumped out to a 18-7 start last Saturday against Chico State but were limited to just 29 points in the game's final 33 minutes.