The Chico State men's basketball team was getting good looks that weren't falling, something the Wildcats haven't experienced much of this season. Meanwhile, visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills was draining one contested shot after another and threatening to end the Wildcats' winning streak.
 
But with their backs against the wall, the 19^th-ranked Wildcats willed their way to victory. Chico State scored on each of its last 10 possessions (five times on second-chance buckets) to closed the game with a 22-7 push over the final 5:35, propelling the Wildcats to an 85-76 victory.
 
Kevin Warren scored nine straight Chico State points during the decisive run, including the game-tying three-point play with 3:30 remaining and the go-ahead 3-pointer 37 seconds later. The junior guard nailed two free throws with 1:58 remaining and the Toros never got back to within a bucket.
 
Warren finished with 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half, and chipped in seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Malik Duffy scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half. The junior forward railed 8-of-16 shots, including 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. The rest of Chico State's starting five also contributed nicely: Isaiah Brooks bagged 11 points and seven assists; Justin Briggs finished with seven points, nine boards, three blocked shots and a pair of steals; and Calvin Geraci contributed eight points and a career-high eight rebounds, five of which came in the game's final 3:37.
 
Chico State improved to 14-3 overall and 9-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with its eighth win in a row, which is just two shy of the team's longest run in the 12-year Greg Clink era. At the halfway point of the conference season, the Wildcats are in sole possession of second place in the CCAA standings, trailing only 11-1 UC San Diego (which the Wildcats host on Feb. 6).
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills has now dropped five of its last six, two coming against the 'Cats, to fall to 9-10 overall and 5-8 in the CCAA.
 
Chico State closed out the first half on a 7-0 run and took a 39-30 lead into the half.
 
Early second-half threes from Duffy and Brooks stretched the advantage to 45-33 with 18:18 remaining.
 
Then came the Toros' charge. They knocked down 14 of their next 21 shots, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, during a 36-18 run. Cal State Dominguez Hills leading scorer Wonder Smith, held scoreless up to that point, scored 15 points during the run. Colton Kresl and Jordan Hilstock had eight apiece. Hilstock's triple with 5:46 to play gave the Toros their biggest lead of the night at 69-63.
 
It did not last.
 
Duffy drilled a three on the other end, and after Kevin Warren drew his second offensive foul of the night, he assisted on Brooks' bucket from beyond the arc that tied the game at 69.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills had one last answer and led 73-70 before Warren's three-point play tied it. Geraci grabbed an offensive rebound, passed to Duffy at the free throw line, and the big man found Warren slashing to the bucket for an and-one.
 
Geraci grabbed a steal on the Toros' next possession, pulled an offensive rebound after Duffy's miss, and found Warren for a three from the left wing that gave the Wildcats the lead for keeps.
 
Briggs' offensive rebound and put back with 1:14 remaining and his two free throws six seconds later pushed the lead to 82-76.
 
Duffy put the game on ice with a pair of free throws with 34 seconds remaining.
 
The Wildcats, who shot well below their season average from the field and from the 3-point line, were 15-of-19 from the free throw line.
 
Chico State will be after its ninth straight win when Cal State LA comes to town Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown in Acker Gym. The Wildcats beat the Golden Eagles 69-66 three weeks ago in Los Angeles.