SAN RAFAEL – The Chico State men's basketball team has ridden four of the best defensive seasons in the history of the program to four straight NCAA Championship Tournaments and a pair of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles. At least for the first two games of the 2015-16 campaign, the offense is doing most of the heavy lifting for the 17^th-ranked Wildcats.
 
Robert Duncan scored a career-high 27 points and Isaiah Ellis added a career-best 20 as Chico State beat Dominican University of California 96-75 Thursday night in the Conlan Center in San Rafael. Ellis, whose previous career scoring night was 14, had 18 in the second half for the Wildcats.
 

After eclipsing 90 points just five times in Head Coach Greg Clink's first seven years at the helm, Chico State has done it twice in its first two games. The Wildcats, now 2-0, put 92 points on Montana State University-Billings in its season opener. The 96 points Thursday are Chico State's most against a Division II opponent since a 106-104 double-overtime loss to Cal State Monterey Bay Jan. 20, 2007 and its most in regulation since a 102-72 win against those same Otters on Feb. 5, 2005.
 
"I love the offense," Clink told Mike Baca on the AM-1290 KPAY Postgame Show. "It takes the pressure off the defense. I don't think we're playing any different in terms of what we're emphasizing. We've just got some pretty talented offensive players.
 
"But I'm greedy. I want to be better defensively. It's probably too early in the year. I just see so much potential with the pieces in terms of how good we can be defensively."
 
Corey Silverstrom, who led the team with 23 points in his first collegiate start against Billings, came off the bench Thursday to score 17 points for the Wildcats. Jalen McFerren chipped in 10 and an exclamation-mark dunk late in the game.
 
Tanner Giddings led the Wildcats on the glass with eight boards as they outrebounded Dominican 42-30. Duncan added six boards and five assists in his first game after missing the season-opener with a nagging injury.
 
With the win, the Wildcats avenged a home loss to the Penguins on the opening night of last season's Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational. They are now 9-1 all-time against Dominican.
 
They played like a motivated team from the tip on Thursday.
 
Clink agreed.
 

"I thought we started the game with a really good defensive mindset for the first six or seven minutes," said Clink. "I thought we played almost perfect."
 
As a result, the Wildcats led 23-10 after Trevor Priest's three-point play with 12:49 left in the first half.
 
But Dominican cut the advantage to 36-34 with 3:31 left before intermission. Duncan, Tyler Harris and Silverstrom sank threes before the half to give the Wildcats a 45-38 edge at the break.
 
The lead hovered between eight and 16 before a McFerren triple sparked a 10-3 run that stretched the edge back to 15. For the first time all night, Dominican was unable to respond.
 
"I think we got a little lackadaisical a couple times after we got big leads and let up a little bit defensively," Duncan told Baca. "We've got to keep improving and keep working to get the defense better… It will come."
 
If it indeed does, and the Wildcats keep playing this kind of offense, it could make for a spectacular season.
 
That season continues Tuesday at 7:30 when the Wildcats travel back to the Bay Area to face Academy of Art. They'll open the home portion of their schedule with the Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational Nov. 27-28.