SAN MARCOS, Calif.—The Chico State men's basketball team did not play the kind of defense Head Coach Greg Clink demands. The Wildcats' seniors played fast and loose with the ball. As a result, Chico State did not get the result most expected in its season opener Friday. The seventh-ranked Wildcats fell to Concordia-Irvine 82–78 in the opening game of the CCAA/PacWest Conference Challenge at The Sports Center on the Campus of Cal State San Marcos.
Chico State led by as many as seven points late in the first half, but committed 11 second-half turnovers as Concordia outscored the Wildcats 48–39 after the break.
The Wildcats' senior trio of Isaiah Ellis, Jalen McFerren, and Corey Silverstrom led the team in scoring. But they were also uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, combining for 13 turnovers.
Concordia improved to 2-1 with the win. Chico State is 0-1 and will wrap up its weekend in San Marcos by facing Biola Saturday night at 5.
Ellis finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, leading the Wildcats in both categories. Silverstrom scored 13, including two late threes that drew the Wildcats within two with eight seconds to play. McFerren chipped in 11 points.
Justin Briggs made his first regular-season collegiate start and totaled nine points, four rebounds, and two blocks. Four Chico State freshmen also made their regular-season collegiate debuts. Malik Duffy finished with eight points and three boards in 13 minutes. Calvin Geraci and Isaiah Brooks scored five points apiece.
Brooks and Geraci fueled a 14–7 push that put Chico State ahead 30–23 late in the first half. A pair of Silverstrom free throws capped the first-half scoring, and The Wildcats went to the locker room up 39–34.
Chico State remained in the lead in the early going of the second half, and Marvin Timothy's bucket in the paint with 14:55 left game them a 46–43 lead.
Then Concordia took control. The Eagles got 3-pointers on three straight possessions and capped an 11-0 run with a layup following Brooks' second turnover in two possessions.
Chico State climbed back to within two on three different occasions, but never got back in front.
