The rims inside of Acker Gym are bare tonight, stripped of the nets that hung there hours before. It's a look that's becoming familiar to Chico State's great basketball fans, whose program has grown into the crown jewel of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, winning its second straight CCAA title and third in the last five years Thursday night.
 
After the Wildcats' 64-57 win against Cal State Dominguez Hills, those rims looked especially beautiful. They trailed by eight in the second half, and what before the game felt somewhat inevitable – Chico State cutting down the nets – was starting to feel unlikely.
 
That was before Robert "Big Moment Bob" Duncan and the Chico State bench took control and secured Chico State the top seed in next week's CCAA Championship Tournament.
 
Duncan made consecutive buckets (the second a three-point play), Tyler Harris scored inside and then hit a 3, and then Nate Ambrosini added a pair of free throws for a 12-0 run that gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
 
Ambrosini and Harris hit triples on consecutive possessions to push the lead to five, and a little more than two minutes later, Harris was on the receiving end of Isaiah Ellis' steal and assist for a breakaway layup that pushed the lead to eight with just 3:40 left.
 
Soon after, the ladder and scissors came out and the nets came down.
 

Chico State's bench outscored the Toros' 34-13 en route to the 13^th-ranked Wildcats' 22^nd win of the season – tied for the seventh most in the program's history and three shy of the all-time record. Their 22 regular-season wins match the 2012 squad for the most since 1984 when the Wildcats won 24.

And there's still one regular season game to play Saturday at Cal State L.A.
 
Ellis, Harris and Ambrosini had big games off the bench. Ellis finished with 11 points and nine boards. Harris and Ambrosini were asked to play larger roles when Corey Silverstrom sustained an injury and missed most of the second half.
 
They responded.
 
Harris had 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, matched his career-high with six rebounds, and equaled his season-high with four assists. Ambrosini added a career-high 10 points, four rebounds and a block.
 
Duncan, a CCAA Player of the Year candidate, finished with team highs of 14 points and five assists. Tanner Giddings hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
The Wildcats improved to 22-4 overall and 16-3 in the CCAA. This marks the program's first back-to-back conference titles since the Wildcats won four straight from 1991 to 1994. Chico State Head Coach Greg Clink played on the last two of those teams.
 
Before Clink led the 'Cats to the 2012 conference title, the Wildcats went 17 years without one, including their first 13 in the CCAA.
 
But now, with three in the past five years, that seems like a long time ago.
 
Chico State will play one more home game in 2015-16: a first-round CCAA Championship Tournament game Tuesday night at 7 p.m. to kick off the postseason.
 
Tickets for that game are available at the University Box office on the corner of 3^rd and Chestnut or via phone at (530) 898-6333. Reserved seats are $9 each. Acker Backers and season ticket holders have their seats on hold until Monday afternoon.
 
General Admission tickets are $7 for adults, $4 for seniors (age 60 and over) and visiting students, and $2 for high school age and under.
 
Chico State student tickets are $2, but the athletic department will be covering the first 500 students who show a valid ID at the University Box Office. Any remaining free student tickets will be brought to Acker Gym the night of the game. After the 500 student tickets are gone, students will have to purchase a ticket for $2.