ARCATA – The Chico State men's basketball team's current road trip features hundreds and hundreds of travel miles as well as two of the toughest California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opponents the Wildcats will face all season. In the first of two straight matchups against conference co-leaders Thursday in Arcata, the 'Cats turned in one their most impressive outings of the 2015-16 campaign, handing Humboldt State a humbling 86-68 defeat in front of a packed house at Lumberjack Arena. 
 
Thursday's win moved Chico State to 12-2 on the season and kept the Wildcats in a first place tie in the CCAA with a 6-1 conference record. Humboldt State suffered its first home loss of the season to fall to 11-2 overall and 5-2 in CCAA play.

 

Robert Duncan led four Wildcat scorers in double figures, pouring in 22 points, making four 3-pointers and shooting 9-for-13 from the field. Tanner Giddings registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, connecting on eight of his 10 field goal attempts. Isaiah Ellis racked up 14 points and six rebounds on the night, while Drew Kitchens added 11 points.
 
Chico State shot 50.7 percent from the field, and dominated Humboldt State on the boards by outrebounding the Lumberjacks 45-21.
 
Both teams experienced a hot hand in the first half, shooting well over 50 percent from the field. Chico State raced out to a 14-4 on the strength of two Giddings jumpers and 3-pointers by Kitchens and Corey Silverstrom. Humboldt State responded with eight unanswered points to pull within two, but back-to-back treys by Nate Ambrosini and a three-point play from Kitchens helped push the 'Cats' advantage back to eight at 24-16.
 
The Wildcats were still up 29-21 when Humboldt started dialing long distance, hitting four 3-pointers in a 19-10 run to jump out in front 40-39. Chico State went back on top on consecutive layups by Giddings, and with Duncan draining a 3-pointer and Ellis connecting on a hook shot, the 'Cats closed out the half on a 9-2 run to lead 48-42 at intermission.
 
Two Duncan 3-pointers to start the second half pushed Chico State's advantage to 10, but Humboldt was able to cut the deficit in half at 57-52. The Wildcats, with Duncan again scoring seemingly at will, went on an 11-2 run to go up 68-54.
 
Humboldt State could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way, and a 12-3 run – with Giddings providing two layups and a 3-point play – gave the 'Cats an 82-63 lead and effectively put the game away. Layups by Ellis and Kitchens completed the scoring for the Wildcats as Chico State rolled to the 86-68 victory.
 
Chico State takes on another CCAA co-leader, Cal Poly Pomona, Saturday in Southern California to wrap up the long-distance road trio. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.