HAYWARD—Justin Briggs was brilliant, scoring a season-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and pulling down eight rebounds in 17 minutes of action before exiting with an injury. For a bit, it looked as though that would be the Chico State men's basketball team's undoing Saturday afternoon at Cal State East Bay. But Marvin Timothy came off the bench to take Briggs' place and filled the void, scoring nine points, dishing out a pair of assists, and yanking down five rebounds during a 27-9 run after the Wildcats had fallen behind by 12.
 
In hindsight, the Wildcats needed just one more basket in regulation after Timothy's layup gave Chico State a six-point lead with 4:38 to play.
 
That basket never came.
 
Cal State East Bay scored the final six points of regulation to force overtime and finished the extra period with an 11-2 run to hand the Wildcats their third straight loss, 80-72, at Pioneer Gym.
 
Timothy finished with 11 points and contributed career highs of nine rebounds and three assists. And fellow post Spencer LaShells also helped pick up the slack when Briggs went down, finishing with six points and a career-high eight rebounds. Nate Ambrosini hit 4-of-7 threes on the way to a 14-point day.
 
Chico State fell to 5-8 overall and 4-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). In avenging a 59-45 loss to the Wildcats back on December 12, Cal State East Bay improved to 15-3 overall and 10-2 in the CCAA.
 
The Pioneers also snapped a 14-game losing streak against Chico State.
 
Briggs scored on consecutive possessions early in the first half to cap a 7-2 push that cut Chico State's deficit to three. But in the immediate aftermath of the second of those baskets, a thunderous dunk, Briggs left the game with an injury.
 
The injury seemed to take the wind out of Chico State's sails, and Cal State East Bay took advantage, scoring the game's next eight points.
 
The Pioneers' lead was 12 before Timothy scored inside and Isaiah Brook buried a 3-pointer to start the Wildcats' 27-9 push.
 
Consecutive 3-pointers by Ambrosini gave the Wildcats their first lead since the early going, and Timothy scored a free throw and twice inside to make it 65-59 with 4:38 to play.
 
Chico State came up empty on its final six possessions, however, missing five straight shots and committed a trio of turnovers.
 
Cal State East Bay tied the game on Ant Naarette's layup with 25 seconds to go.
 
Ambrosini railed another 3-pointer to start the overtime period, and Malik Duffy hit a jumper with 2:47 remaining to give Chico State its last lead, 70-69.
 
The Pioneers responded by hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a driving basket on their next three possessions to take control for good.
 
The Wildcats are back home for their next three beginning Thursday with a showdown against 13^th-ranked UC San Diego. Mike Baca will be courtside to provide the play-by-play, broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290-AM and 102.9 FM KPAY, and simulcast on the Internet via www.chicowildcats.com. Links to live stats and live streaming video will also be available online.