A welcome cloudburst rolled into Acker Gym Saturday night. From the opening whistle, it was raining threes.
Hallelujah!
(Hat tip to
The Weather Girls' No. 1 disco hit for the inspiration.)
Chico State snapped a four-game losing skid by knocking down a school record-tying 18 triples, needing just 29 attempts to do so, in storming to an 88-64 win against Cal State San Marcos.
Malik Duffy drilled 6-of-7 from distance on the way to a career-high 24 points. Josh Lavergne, who had not scored since Dec. 8, made all four of his 3-point attempts on the way to a career-high 12. Isaiah Brooks buried 3-of-4, Nate Ambrosini 3-of-7, and Kevin Warren 2-of-5.
Not since February 5, 2005, had the fans in Acker Gym seen a downpour like this. That night, the Wildcats hit 18 of 39 threes in a 30-point win against Cal State Monterey Bay.
Brooks railed a triple just 16 seconds into the game and the Wildcats never trailed.
Nate Ambrosini goes up for one of his three made 3-pointers Saturday
night in front of the Wildcats bench.
(Jason Halley/University Photographer/CSU Chico)
Ambrosini and Warren went back-to-back midway through the half to stretch the lead to 26-12. And the Wildcats' last four possessions of the first half ended in threes by Brooks, Ambrosini, Duffy, and once again, Duffy.
The Wildcats led by 13 at the break after having knocked down 12 of 17 from long distance. Lavergne made 4-of-4 in his 10 minutes of action.
They cooled down a bit in the second half, but still made 6-of-12. Cal State San Marcos got no closer than nine and trailed by as many as 25.
Duffy matched his career-high in scoring with 17 points in the loss to UC San Diego Thursday night. He reached 16 with a 3-pointer three minutes into the second stanza, and then put the game away by hitting two threes and a jumper in a two-minute span, stretching the lead to 78-60.
The sophomore also chipped in a game-high seven rebounds to go along with three assists.
Isaiah Brooks assisted on four of Duffy's buckets on the way to 10 helpers in becoming the first Wildcat with two games of 10 or more assists in the Greg Clink era. The sophomore point guard also made 5-of-6 shots on the way to a 16-point performance.
Warren finished with 15 points. Ambrosini chipped in nine points, four rebounds, and four assists. And big man Marvin Timothy grabbed a career-high four steals.
Now 6-9 overall and 5-9 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, the Wildcats will attempt to keep the momentum rolling next Saturday night when rival Humboldt State comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. 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 are also available online.
Kevin Warren rips home a dunk.
(Jason Halley/University Photographer/CSU Chico)
