SAN MARCOS, California—It's been a surreal six days for the Chico State men's basketball team. The defending West Region Champion Wildcats absorbed their second straight pounding Friday, falling 65–47 at Cal State San Marcos.
Coming off an 18-point home loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills after starting its season 9-2, Chico State was unable to turn things around at the Sports Center on the campus of Cal State San Marcos. The Wildcats missed 27 of their first 33 shots and their first 12 3-point attempts.
Chico State finished the night 19-for-62 from the floor, including 5-of-29 from 3-point range, and 4-of-11 from the free throw line. The Wildcats are now 9-4 overall and fell into fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) at 6-3.
Cal State San Marcos moved to 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the CCAA.
The Wildcats trailed by 14 when they finally found some life late in the first half with a 7–0 run. A Justin Briggs layup in transition off a nice feed from Jalen McFerren got things started. Isaiah Ellis' steal and layup followed, and then Nate Ambrosini broke their drought from 3-point land, hitting the team's first triple of the night to cut the deficit to 27–20 at the half.
Chico State got as close as five on back-to-back buckets by McFerren, the first on a drive and the second from beyond the arc with 16:27 left. The Wildcats remained within striking distance until a five-minute scoring drought did them in.
The deficit was 41–34 following McFerren's layup with 11:50 to play. But the Wildcats went scoreless on their next eight possessions, committing a pair of turnovers, missing two free throws, and misfiring on six consecutive shots.
On the other end of the floor, Cal State San Marcos sank five straight shots to grow its lead to the largest of the night, 55–34, before Ellis' drive and score finally stopped the bleeding with just 6:23 to play.
Corey Silverstrom led the Wildcats with eight points, and McFerren and Ellis each finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
Chico State will be right back in action Saturday night at UC San Diego. The Tritons (9-5 overall and 6-2 in the CCAA) currently hold a half-game lead over the Wildcats for third place.
