For the second time in four nights the Chico State men's basketball team jumped out to a big early lead and went wire-to-wire to win. The Wildcats' defense was suffocating, its offense was superb, and they dominated the glass in an 83–55 pasting of Academy of Art on opening night of the 57^th Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational.
 
Chico State outrebounded the Urban Knights 49–24 as eight different Wildcats grabbed four or more misses. Robert Duncan and Isaiah Ellis led the way with seven rebounds each, Nate Ambrosini grabbed six, Jalen McFerren and Corey Silverstrom five apiece, and Justin Briggs, Keith Datu, and Marvin Timothy had four.
 
And with the Wildcats limiting Academy of Art to tough, contested shots, there were plenty of rebounds to be had. The Urban Knights shot 33 percent, including 31 percent inside the arc.
 
Meanwhile, Chico State's offense was impressive as well. The Wildcats continually used the dribble attack and made the extra pass to get good looks. They finished with 17 assists on 24 made shots.
 
Silverstrom took full advantage, sinking five 3-pointers on the way to a season-high 24 points. McFerren finished with 12 points and five assists. Duncan matched his career-high with seven assists and needs just six more to become the 13^th player in the program's history to reach 200. He also reached a milestone Friday. Duncan's third steal of the night was the 100^th of his career. He's the eighth Wildcat ever to hit that mark.

 
Duncan found Timothy Inside on the Wildcats' first possession and the big man converted a three-point play. They were off and running.
 
Triples by Silverstrom and Ellis, coupled with four forced turnovers, sparked a 12–0 run that gave Chico State a 15–2 lead.
 
They led by double-digits for the rest of the night.
 
Silverstrom had already eclipsed his previous season-high with 14 points by halftime, and the Wildcats took a 43-28 advantage into the break.
 
Silverstrom, McFerren, and Duncan drained two 3-pointers apiece in the second half as the Wildcats' lead ballooned to as large as 33.
 
In Friday night's first matchup, Cal State East Bay outscored Northwest Nazarene 44–25 over the final 22 minutes on the way to a 71–53 win.  Senior transfer Micah Dunhour led the Pioneers with 23 points. Cal State East Bay (5-1), also forced the Crusaders (2-2) into 23 turnovers.
 
Northwest Nazarene's Jalen Shepard and Cal State East Bay's Juwan Anderson were both ejected after Shepard hit Anderson with a punch two minutes before halftime. Three more players from each team were also thrown out of the game for leaving the bench during the altercation.
 
Chico State will face Northwest Nazarene Saturday night at 7:30. Cal State East Bay and Academy of Art will play at 5:30.
 
Every remaining Chico State basketball this season will be broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290 KPAY-AM. Links to streaming audio, video and live stats are available in the calendar section on the ChicoWildcats.com homepage and on the men's basketball schedule page.