TURLOCK—Needing an eighth straight victory to set up a first-place showdown weekend, the Chico State men's basketball team instead scuffled defensively and fell 88-78 at Stanislaus State on Thursday.
 
Stanislaus State shot 58 percent in the second half and hit 10-of-19 threes on the night to score the most points against the Wildcats since Feb. 2, 2013.
 
Corey Silverstrom's sensational 22-point second half was not enough to keep up with the Warriors. They erupted for 54 second-half points, including 44 in the final 15 minutes, erasing a six-point Chico State lead.
 
The Wildcats' strengths this season have been their defense and rebounding. They entered the night ranked No. 2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and No. 6 in the nation in points allowed per game, and first in the CCAA and 15^th in the nation with a plus-8.3 rebounding margin. Chico State was outrebounded 19-12 in the second half (34-30 in the game) and allowed nine second-chance points after the break.
 
Chico State, which hoped to close to within a half-game of first place, instead fell to 16-6 overall and 13-5 in the CCAA with its first loss since Jan. 6. The loss dropped the Wildcats into fourth place. They trail first-place Cal State San Marcos by a game and a half, Cal Poly Pomona by a game, and UC San Diego by percentage points in the race for the conference title.
 
UC San Diego will be in town Thursday night and Cal State San Marcos visits Saturday, which will mark Senior Night and the final regular-season home game for the Wildcats. Tipoff both nights is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
Silvestrom, who scored 14 straight Chico State points down the stretch, finished with a season-high 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Isaiah Ellis added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Justin Briggs chipped in 12 points, six boards, and two blocked shots.
 
Silverstrom scored five points and had an assist during a 9-0 push that gave Chico State a 22-15 lead with 5:40 to play in the first half in front of a capacity crowd for Stanislaus State's Homecoming. But the Warriors made five straight 3-pointers over the final 5:02 (beginning a stretch in which they scored 73 points in the final 25:02) before the break to stay close. Chico State's halftime lead was 37-34.
 
The Warriors briefly tied the game on an Andy Cleaves dunk before Chico State used a 6-0 run on Nate Ambrosini's 3-pointer and Briggs' three-point play to retake the lead. It was a back-and-forth affair over the next few minutes, and Isaiah Ellis' layup with 10:21 to play gave the Wildcats their final lead of the night at 59-58.
 
Then the Warriors took control, attacking the basket for easy buckets and drawing fouls to put together the game's decisive 12-0 run. Chico State closed the gap to six on a pair of occasions but could get no closer.