On a night in which free throw misses were nearly the undoing of Chico State's men's basketball team, an accidental make by Cal State San Marcos set the stage for one of the most exciting moments in the history of Acker Gym.
 
Jalen McFerren's half-court buzzer beater – McFerren's Miracle – made winners out of a Chico State team that trailed almost all night in an 83-82 victory against Cal State San Marcos.
 

Darnell Taylor gave Cal State San Marcos the lead with 1.2 seconds left after running down Taran Brown's tipped rebound and racing toward the basket. Robert Duncan arrived just in time to foul him and force him to earn the lead from the line. Taylor made the first, and after the Cougars called a timeout, was clearly trying to miss the second free throw in an effort to keep Chico State from setting up an inbounds play. Instead, Taylor banked it in.
 
McFerren took the inbounds pass from Tanner Giddings in front of the Cal State San Marcos bench while spinning to his left. He dribbled once and then let it fly from the half-court line directly in front of the scorers' table. The ball touched nothing but twine before falling to the floor. The Wildcats chased McFerren to the main entrance of the gym where they caught and mobbed him before momentarily pausing the celebration to hustle back to shake hands with the Cougars.
 
The Wildcats, ranked No. 22 in the nation, improved to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). At least momentarily, the Wildcats are now alone atop the conference standings. The other unbeaten teams heading into play Saturday night were Cal State San Marcos and Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego, which were both idle. 
 
Cal State San Marcos, in its first season as a member of the NCAA and CCAA, fell to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the CCAA.
 
It marked the first meeting between the programs. They may play hundreds of times over the years and never have another decided like this.
 
McFerren's first 3-pointer of the night, with 64 seconds left, tied the game at 80-all. Isaiah Ellis drew an offensive foul to give Chico State the ball with 37 seconds to play. Duncan used the dribble to set up Nate Ambrosini for an open look from three, but the ball rattled in and out. Duncan grabbed the rebound and hurried his shot a bit – a turnaround jumper with nine seconds left – setting up the final few seconds of action.
 
McFerren, who had only nine points on 3-of-11 shooting before rising up to rail the game-tying pull-up three, finished with 15.
 
Drew Kitchens scored 12 of his career-high 18 points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting. He knocked down both of his second-half threes and made eight of 10 shots overall.
 
Duncan sated the stat sheet again, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
 
Isaiah Ellis came off the bench to score 13 and Giddings delivered his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Chico State trailed by as many as 12 during the game and led for only 2:25. Cal State San Marcos' success at the free throw line (the Cougars made 29 of 33), coupled with Chico State's struggles (they missed 15 of 29) seemed too great a hurdle to overcome for the Wildcats at times.
 
Chico State's defense finally found its footing over the final nine minutes, forcing five turnovers and contesting more shots as Cal State San Marcos missed eight of its last nine from the field.
 
That keyed a 23-11 game-ending run.
 

Chico State trailed 71-60 before Ellis sank a baseline jumper to ignite a 7-0 sequence. Kitchens canned a triple to make it 71-65, and then Duncan (who assisted on Ellis' and Kitchens' scores) scored on a drive to trim the lead to 71-67.
 
The lead fluctuated between four and six before Duncan made two free throws and McFerren added another to cut it to three with 4:55 left.
 
Giddings scored the Wildcats' next five points, tipping in a pair of misses and making a free throw, to cut the lead to one. But Declan Daly's jumper gave the Cougars a three-point cushion with just over a minute to play.
 
Head Coach Greg Clink was screaming for McFerren to attack the basket, but when the defense sagged, he stopped and popped the game-tying three from the left wing.
 
The rest – an accidental free throw and McFerren's miraculous make – was soon to come.
 
Chico State will face a very familiar foe next Saturday – Sonoma State – on the road in Rohnert Park. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30. The Wildcats will be back home for a New Year's Eve matinee at 3 p.m.