Hold on. This has the makings of one wild ride.
 
The Chico State men's basketball team held off Cal State L.A. for a 64-59 win in front of the largest and loudest crowd of the season for its sixth straight win to stay in a three-way tie for first atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings.
 

The Wildcats improved to 13-5 overall and 10-3 in the CCAA by connecting on 10-of-11 free throws in the final 2:01 in front of 1,700 raucous rooters. Chico State entered the game shooting just 61 percent from the line but hit 18-of-21 Friday.
 
Drew Kitchens hit a pair with 2:01 left to stretch the Wildcats' lead to four. Robert Duncan delivered two with 58 seconds remaining to give them a three-point lead. Isaiah Ellis nailed two with 22 ticks left to make it a five-point game. Duncan delivered two more with 11 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. And then Mike Rosaroso went to the line with the 'Cats leading by three with three seconds left and made both to put a bow on the night.
 
They're 5-0 this season when hitting at least 70 percent of their free throws.
 
The Golden Eagles (7-10, 5-8 CCAA) made five straight 3-pointers down the stretch and 7-of-9 in the second half to climb back into the game. Joshua Munzon banked one in from straight-away and Chris Martin hit another while falling on his backside.
 
Jordan Semple led the Wildcats with 10 points, 10 rebounds (his fourth double-double of the season and the 19^th of his career – third most in school history and two shy of the record), three blocks, three steals and two assists. He also passed good friend and long-time teammate, Amir Carraway, to move into ninth on the school's career scoring list. With 1,173 points, he's closing in fast on two more of his former mates: Damario Sims (1,191 points) and Sean Park (1,227 points).
 
Duncan delivered 12 points and hit all six of his free throw attempts. Tanner Giddings and Ellis each scored nine, Rosaroso registered eight and Kitchens scored seven to go along with a career-high three assists.
 
The Wildcats led 30-13 late in the first half before Cal State L.A. began chipping away. They cut the lead to a dozen by the half and then used a 10-1 run to pull to within 38-33 with 13:29 remaining. Another run, this one 9-0, had the Wildcats clinging to a 44-42 advantage with 8:36 to play.
 
Semple assisted on a jumper, grabbed a steal to set up a Duncan three, and then scored on consecutive possessions to keep Chico State above water.
 
Duncan's tip-in with 2:50 left was the Wildcats' final field goal of the night and gave them a 54-50 edge. They did the rest of their scoring from the free throw line.
 
Chico State improved to 9-0 this season and 59-4 in Greg Clink's tenure when limiting opponents to fewer than 60 points.
 
They'll attempt to do it again Saturday night when they host Cal State Dominguez Hills. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.