TURLOCK – Stuck in traffic for hours between Sacramento and Stockton, the Chico State men's basketball team finally arrived at Stanislaus State 10 minutes before the scheduled tip time of their non-conference matchup Wednesday night. When the game finally started 50 minutes late, the Wildcats seemed to still be stuck in neutral, falling behind 17-4.
 
Then they found their gear.
 Chico State used a 30-9 run to take the lead on the way to an 84-69 victory in its final regular season non-conference game. The Wildcats, ranked No. 22 in the nation, made 29 of their last 37 shots and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 14 to 3 over the final 30 minutes.
 
Robert Duncan scored 25 points (19 in the second half), had career highs of eight rebounds and three blocked shots, and dished out a game-high five assists. Drew Kitchens sank three 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 15 points. Jalen McFerren finished with 14 points and a career-best eight rebounds. And Tanner Giddings scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half.
 
Chico State improved to 8-1 in winning its fifth straight overall and ninth straight regular-season road game. The Wildcats are 7-0 away from home this year.
 
Stanislaus State slipped to 3-4 after having won two straight over the weekend.
 

The teams will meet again, this time on conference play, on Jan. 30 in Chico.
 
After Kitchens buried a 3-pointer on the Wildcats' first possession, Stanislaus State scored 17 of the next 18 points to take a 17-4 lead.
 
The Wildcats still trailed 26-14 before a 7-0 run (Duncan scored a layup and then Kitchens hit a 3 before assisting on an Isaiah Ellis jumper) trimmed the lead to five.
 
A 14-0 push moments later put the Wildcats ahead to stay. Duncan dipped into the lane for a three-point play and layup, McFerren railed a 3-pointer, and then Kitchens canned a pair of free throws to give Chico State a 32-30 edge at the half.
 
The run continued out of the break with a pair of Giddings free throws and another McFerren triple that stretched the lead to 37-30.
 
The lead was down to three before Duncan delivered three minutes of perfection.
 
The junior guard from Granite Bay scored 13 points from the 12:11 mark to the 8:54 mark as the Wildcats increased their lead to 11. He hit a 3-pointer with 12:11 remaining and another with 10:52 to go – both assisted by Tyler Harris – before burying his third straight 32 seconds later. Duncan then scored on back-to-back possessions driving to the basket for acrobatic buckets.
 
The lead was still somewhat tenuous until McFerren was fouled taking a three and sank all three free throws to stretch the lead to 74-62 with 3:36 remaining. Duncan embedded the dagger, a 3-pointer with 2:57 left, that made it a 15-point advantage.
 
Chico State will open the home portion of its conference schedule Saturday night at 7:30 against Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars (4-3) are in their first season as an NCAA Division II and California Collegiate Athletic Association program. The first ever meeting between the teams will have significant stakes. The Wildcats and Cougars are two of five teams currently tied atop the CCAA standings at 2-0.