TURLOCK – The Chico State men's basketball team got back on track Thursday night in Turlock. The Wildcats started fast and finished strong, hitting 17 triples en route to a 95–67 win in the first of two meetings with Stanislaus State in three days. The teams will meet again in Chico Saturday.
The victory snapped a three-game skid for the Wildcats, who are now 19-6 overall and 12-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. It also guaranteed them a first-round home game to open the Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Jalen McFerren, hot from 3-point range entering the game, was blazing Thursday. The junior point guard buried 8-of-9 from beyond the arc and led the Wildcats with a career-high 26 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. He has now hit 22-of-36 threes in the past four games.
Tyler Harris and Robert Duncan added three 3-pointers apiece, Michael Bethea, Jr. hit a pair, and Corey Silverstrom sank one. The Wildcats made 17-of-33 as a team.
Isaiah Ellis had 13 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats. Duncan scored 11 points and dished out four assists. Bethea contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three steals. And Justin Briggs finished with 10 points.
Harris capped a 13–0 run with a 3-pointer to give Chico State an early 18–5 lead. Stanislaus State got as close as five before the Wildcats regained control and took a 43–29 lead into the half. Bethea scored seven points in sparking a 14–4 push before intermission. Briggs scored 10 in the opening stanza.
The Wildcats outscored the Warriors 26–10 in the first 10 minutes of the second half to put the game away. McFerren hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points during that stretch.
With the three teams ahead of Chico State in the CCAA standings all off Thursday, the Wildcats made up some ground in the race for the title. They now trail UC San Diego by two games and Sonoma State and San Francisco State by a game-and-a-half with three to play.
Duncan and Bethea, the team's only two seniors, will be honored prior to Saturday night's game, which is Chico State's regular-season home finale.
