Box Score SAN BERNARDINO – Jordan Semple described it as "The best feeling in the world."
"It's contagious," said Sean Park.
The Chico State men's basketball team certainly came down with something Saturday night – its first berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament Sweet 16.
The Wildcats posted their most points in six seasons and shot a sublime 67 percent to beat top seeded and 16th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino 94-77 in the semifinal round of the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional at the Coyotes' own Coussoulis Arena.
Chico State, the West Region's No. 4 seed, will play No. 7 seed Cal State Stanislaus for the regional title and trip to the Elite Eight Monday night at 7 p.m. in San Bernardino.
Semple and Park were describing what it felt like to be part of such a superb offensive attack. Semple, Rashad Parker and Amir Carraway scored 21 points apiece for the Wildcats, who improved to 24-7 and now stand just one victory away from tying the program record for wins in a season. Park, Giordano Estrada and Jordan Barton added eight points apiece and Drew Kitchens scored seven.
Parker and Semple posted career highs of seven assists as the Wildcats dropped dimes on 22 of 37 makes. Semple made 10-of-12 shots, Carraway 9-of-11 and Barton made all three of his attempts, including a pair of three-point plays.
"I kept telling them during timeouts, just keep playing. Keep playing," said Chico State Head Coach Greg Clink. "We were in that mode. We were confident and unselfish. When things are clicking like that – that's why everybody loves to play this game – because it's such a great feeling."
Carraway and Semple scored all five buckets during a 10-1 run that pushed Chico State's lead to 39-24. The Wildcats led by as many as 17 before the Coyotes (24-5) climbed back into it with a 9-1 run before the break, trimming the lead to 49-41.
The Wildcats reestablished their dominance in the opening moments of the second stanza. Carraway scored eight points in the first 4:08 of the second half and the route was on.
The Wildcats led by 10 or more from that point on and by as many as 20.
"This obviously was one of our best if not the best offensive game of the season," said Clink. "We were attacking and getting to the rim, and even when we didn't get to the rim we were hitting guys for wide open shots."
This was undoubtedly the biggest win in Clink's six seasons and perhaps the biggest in 99 years of Chico State men's basketball. Two seasons ago the Wildcats won their first California Collegiate Athletic Association title and won an NCAA Tournament game for just the second time before eventual National Champion Western Washington rallied to beat them in the second round. Last season they fell to Cal Poly Pomona in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
"It's always in the back of our minds that we could have made a deeper run," said Park, who along with Carraway and Parker has been part of that entire ride. "So it's an amazing feeling to be sitting here."
