SAN BERNARDINO—Billed a clash between Chico State's top-ranked California Collegiate Athletic Association defense and Cal State San Bernardino's top-ranked CCAA offense, Thursday afternoon's matinee turned out to be an instant classic that neither of those entity's won. Instead, it was Chico State's offense that ruled the day. The Wildcats canned a school-record 20 three-pointers and never trailed in a 99-90 win. Ranked No. 6 in the nation in the D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 8 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Wildcats improved to 6-0 for the first time since the 1942-43 campaign and fourth time ever, as well as 2-0 in the CCAA. Cal State San Bernardino (No. 11-NABC/No. 12-D2SIDA) slipped to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the CCAA.
Malik Duffy scored Chico State's first 10 points, hitting three 3s in the opening 3-plus minutes, to give Chico State a lead it would never relinquish. Duffy finished with a game-high 26 points and led the Wildcats with eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Isaiah Brooks buried all six of his 3-point attempts, all eight of his field goal tries, and his lone free throw, on the way to a career-high 23 points. He also dished out a season-high eight assists. Colby Orr also had career highs in points (16), threes (5) and assists (7). Kevin Warren chipped in 12 points, Evan Oliver scored a career-best nine in his return to Cal State San Bernardino, where is father was once the coach. And Joshua Hamilton had eight points, four rebounds, two steals, and a team best +/- of plus-12.
The Wildcats buried 27-of-51 shots, 19-of-30 from 3-point range, and 26-of-37 free throws. Chico State's bench outscored Cal State San Bernardino's 27-11. The Coyotes' Daytone Jennings and Brandon Knapper scored 28 points apiece. The game took place in the Wolves Den, the Coyotes' practice facility, with the NCAA Regional Volleyball Championships taking place next door in Coussoullis Arena.
Thursday's game marked the first of two Top-25 matchups for the Wildcats this week. They are at NABC No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona Saturday at 7:30. The Broncos are hosting Stanislaus State Thursday night. Fans can follow the action via the CCAA Network Livestream or listen to Mike Baca's call locally on AM-1290 KPAY and streaming online. Those links, along with one for live stats, can be found on the men's basketball schedule page and the calendar section on the homepage at
www.chicowildcats.com.
Chico State had allowed just 56.4 points per game entering play Thursday, while Cal State San Bernardino was averaging 85.6 points per game. The Wildcats had some success curtailing the Coyotes' high-powered attack early on and led 30-12 with 10:30 to go in the first half. The game was basically an offensive onslaught after that with two huge exceptions—decisive steals by Brooks and Hamilton that helped the Wildcats put the game away.
Chico State's lead was double digits for most of the night. After Duffy's early deluge, the Wildcats' bench keyed a 20-6 run. Orr scored all nine of his points, Oliver hit a pair of threes, and Kaleb Carter contributed a block and a bucket as the lead ballooned to 30-12.
Cal State San Bernardino finally got back to within 10 with under seven minutes to play, and the lead was down to four when Brooks made the defensive play of the game to that point. Jennings was backing in on Duffy near the left block when Brooks snuck down and swiped the ball away to snap a streak of five consecutive Cal State San Bernardino possessions that ended in a score.
Warren scored on the other end of the floor to stretch the lead to six. It was back down to five when Hamilton crept in behind Eddie Davis—who had just grabbed a loose ball right underneath the basket—and knocked the ball off Davis' leg and out of bounds for a Chico State possession, up five with 1:11 to play.
Brooks converted a baseline drive on the following possession and the Coyotes never got closer than five in the final minute.
For years Cal State San Bernardino dominated the series between these teams. Since the start of 2011-12, however Chico State has now won 18 of the last 20 meetings, including nine of 11 in San Bernardino.
During that same time, the Wildcats have struggled against Cal Poly Pomona, going just 6-16, including 2-7 at Kellogg Arena, where Saturday's matchup will take place. The Wildcats don't have to look too far back to find some good memories there, however. Chico State opened the season with wins against Azusa Pacific and then-nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific. And back in December of 2018, Warren, Brooks and Duffy also scored in double figures to lead the Wildcats past the then-8
th-ranked Broncos in Pomona.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Fans considering attending Saturday's game should familiarize themselves with Cal Poly Pomona's ticketing and attendance policies via the following link:
Cal Poly Pomona Ticketing and Attendance Policies
