For the majority of the first 40 minutes the Chico State men's basketball team forced visiting Humboldt State to play at the Wildcats' pace. But in overtime the Lumberjacks laid rubber to pull out a 74-73 win at Acker Gym Friday night.
 
At no time was that more damning for the Wildcats than after Robert Duncan made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Wildcats a one-point lead with 4.6 seconds left in overtime. The Lumberjacks inbounded the ball and flipped a pass to Allan Guei who raced up court before putting on the brakes for a pull-up jumper with a foot on the 3-point line. He buried the shot and the Wildcats' hopes for a fourth straight home win against the rival Lumberjacks with one-tenth of a second remaining.
 
The bucket was the Lumberjacks' seventh in their final eight possessions of overtime.
 

Chico State knocked down some crucial buckets as well – first to force the overtime and then to grab the late lead.
 
Tanner Giddings got consecutive scores in the final 1:51 to erase Humboldt State's four-point lead. Giddings nearly converted a tip-in with 10 seconds left but it was blocked.
 
Chico State trailed 72-69 in overtime when Drew Kitchens sank a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to tie the game. After a nice rebound and outlet by Jordan Semple, Duncan led a 2-on-1 break and was fouled by Austin Bryan with 4.6 seconds left, setting up the final scene.
 
The Lumberjacks entered the weekend as the California Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) highest scoring team at 87.6 points per game. Chico State, meanwhile, ranked seventh in the nation in points allowed (60.5).
 
Regulation was played at the Wildcats' pace, but the Lumberjacks got loose during the five-minute overtime period.
 
Semple finished with 10 rebounds. His fifth of the night was the 752^nd of his career – a new Chico State record. He passed Billy Jones, who played from 1964-66. Semple, also the school's all-time leading shot blocker, joins the great George Maderos as the only two players atop two or more of the program's career record lists.
 
The Wildcats fell to 4-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and 7-5 overall. They're in a four-way tie for second, a game behind Cal Poly Pomona, Sonoma State and Cal State Stanislaus.
 
Humboldt State has won six straight to improve to 9-4 overall and 3-4 in the CCAA. The Lumberjacks are in a three-way logjam for eighth, but just two games out of first place.
 
Giddings carried the Wildcats offensively at times and matched his season high set in the Wildcats' last game with 16 points. Duncan and Jordan Barton scored 11 points apiece and Kitchens chipped in a season-high 10.
 
Freshman Malik Morgan led Humboldt State with 22 points and his backcourt mate, Guei, scored 17. Bryan converted two four-point plays in the first half as Humboldt State built its lead to as large as seven. He finished with 14 points.
 
Chico State is back in action Saturday night against Cal State San Bernardino, one of the other teams tied for fourth. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.