Guess it's true what they say about all good things. A bunch of good things ended for the Chico State men's basketball team all at once Thursday night in Acker Gym. When Colby Orr's full-speed-ahead, right-handed flip from under the hoop went off glass, bounced five times on the rim, and fell off, a great game ended, for one. The Wildcats' 11-game conference winning streak and the longest unbeaten streak to start a season in program history also ended at the hands of 9
th-ranked Cal State San Marcos, which knocked off 4
th-ranked Chico State 87-85 in overtime.
That means it is time for the Wildcats to start something new. A 10-1 record, including 6-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), is a great foundation to start from. Players like Orr, Kelvin Wright Jr., and the rest of the roster are great pieces to build with. Orr scored a career-high for the second game in a row, leading the team with 20 Thursday night. Wright's 17 rebounds match the most pulled down by a Wildcat in the Greg Clink era. Malik Duffy finished with 19 points and Kevin Warren scored 15.
The Wildcats suffered from their worst shooting night in two months from beyond the arc, missing 17-of-23 tries from 3-point range. They also shot a pedestrian 13-of-20 from the free throw line.
Cal State San Marcos, which is off to its best start in program history, improved to 12-0, including 8-0 in the CCAA. The Cougars took over sole possession atop the conference standings with the win thanks in part to a 22-of-25 night from the free throw line.
Orr scored 12 points in the final 6:05 of regulation as the Wildcats battled from seven down to force overtime. He scored on a drive to tie the game 79-all with seven seconds left in regulation, and Wright recorded one of his three blocks on the night to preserve the tie.
The Wildcats trailed by one after Orr's driving basket with 40 seconds remaining in the extra period, and the Alex Gil-Fernandez made just one of two free throws with six seconds to play, Wright Jr. grabbed the rebound and passed to Orr. The junior guard maneuvered his way around a defender and flipped up his shot just before the buzzer sounded. It looked good for a moment before falling off.
The Wildcats' scheduled game Saturday night against Cal State LA was canceled earlier Thursday due to Cal State LA COVID-19 protocols, in accordance with CCAA policy. The means the Wildcats will have to start building this new thing on the road where they are scheduled to play their next four games: at San Francisco State on January 20; at Cal State Monterey Bay January 22; at Humboldt State January 27; and at Sonoma State January 29.
They will return home to play fellow conference heavyweights Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino the first week of February.
