The Chico State men's basketball team opened California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with the pedal to the metal Thursday night. Justin Briggs brought down the house with a first-possession slam and Isaiah Brooks drilled a 3-pointer to make it 5-0. Then the Wildcats began to misfire and never got rolling again, eventually falling 74-66 to Stanislaus State.
 
The visiting Warriors scored 16 of the game's next 19 points to surge ahead, and though the Wildcats remained within striking distance throughout, they never managed to catch them.
 
Chico State missed 11 of 16 free throws and 22 of 33 three-point attempts in falling to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA. Stanislaus State went 14-for-17 from the free throw line and hit 42 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc.
 
Stanislaus State led 16-8 after its early push and by as many as nine in the opening stanza before Brooks buried a jumper in the paint to beat the halftime buzzer.
 
The Warriors built their advantage to 11 in the second half before Chico State cut it to two with a 9-0 run culminating in Briggs' jumper with 13 minutes to play. After Stanislaus State ended its four-plus-minute scoring drought Joshua Hamilton drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one. But that was as close as the Wildcats would get.
 
Malik Duffy led Chico State with 18 points. Brooks finished with eight points, six rebounds, and five assists. Kevin Warren chipped in 10 points, and Calvin Geraci and Hamilton nine apiece. Freshman Amari Stroud led all players with nine rebounds in just over 12 minutes of action.
 
Briggs battled foul trouble all night. The Chico State big man eventually fouled out after just 11:33 of action with season lows of four points and three rebounds.
 
Chico State is back in action Saturday at home against Cal State East Bay, which opened CCAA play with an impressive 79-49 win at home against Cal State LA and will come to Chico with a record of 4-1.