A little over halfway through the conference schedule, the Chico State men's basketball team finds itself squarely in the mix for a postseason berth in the upcoming California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament. The Wildcats, however, know they need a strong finish to assure accomplishing that goal, as they hit the road for the second consecutive week. The 'Cats will be in Hayward Thursday at 7:30 p.m. to face Cal State East Bay, then Saturday head to Southern California for a 3 p.m. contest against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Fans can follow the action of both games locally on KPAY Sports 1290-AM, with Mike Baca's broadcast simulcast on the Internet. Live Stats and live streaming video are also available online, with links located on the Wildcat Athletics homepage and the men's basketball schedule page. Accessing the live video stream requires a monthly subscription fee that grants users access to every CCAA event on the network, home and away.
Chico State enters the week with an overall record of 8-9, and though its 6-6 conference record has the Wildcats in sixth place in the ultra-tight CCAA standings, Greg Clink's squad sits just one game out of third. The first leg of the 'Cats current four-game road swing did not go well, as Chico State fell to Cal State Monterey Bay 85-66 last Thursday and 78-63 Saturday to San Francisco State.
The Wildcats are not only looking to snap a three-game losing streak this week, but also sweep the regular season series against both East Bay and Dominguez Hills. Chico State downed the Toros 69-63 back on January 5, and followed that up January 7 with a 59-56 victory over the Pioneers.
Chico State is 2-7 on the road this season.
The 'Cats are third among the 12 CCAA teams in offense, averaging 75.8 points a game. Defensively, however, Chico State is near the bottom of the CCAA team rankings, allowing 75.8 points a contest. The Wildcats are tied for fourth in the conference in 3-pointers, with 143 treys on the season.
Individually, Jojo Murphy is the third-leading scorer in the CCAA, averaging 18.9 points a game. Murphy also ranks second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (43.2 percent), third in free throw percentage (81 percent), seventh in 3-pointers (38), and eighth in field goal percentage (46.5 percent).
The Wildcats feature three other double-digit scorers. Kelvin Wright Jr. is averaging 12.4 points per game, with Evan Oliver and Joshua Hamilton combining for 47 3-pointers while averaging 11.4 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. Justin Vigil (8.5 ppg) is the 'Cats' leading rebounder, averaging six boards a contest.
Cal State East Bay, which hosts the Wildcats Thursday, is 5-13 overall and sits in the CCAA cellar with a 3-9 conference record. After dropping a 56-48 decision last Thursday against Cal State San Marcos, the Pioneers snapped a six-game losing streak Saturday with an 82-76 road win over Cal State LA.
Cal State East Bay has split its eight home games this season at Pioneer Gymnasium.
East Bay's offense is averaging just 65.1 points a game (last in the CCAA), but is third in the conference defensively, surrendering 70.5 point a contest.
Freshman forward/center Grady Lewis leads the Pioneers with a 14.5 points per game average, while junior forward Dimitrios Klonaras contributes 12.3 points and ranks eighth in the CCAA with a team-high 6.4 rebounds a contest. Junior guard Chris James (8.8 ppg) is East Bay's top 3-pointer shooter (19), with junior guard Garrett Pascoe (6.7 ppg) ranked second among all conference players with 84 assists.
Since 1987, Chico State leads the all-time series with the Pioneers 32-13.
Cal State Dominguez Hills, which takes on the 'Cats Saturday following a Thursday night tilt against Stanislaus State, is 8-10 this season and in 11th place in the CCAA with a 4-8 conference mark. The Toros have had a rough month of January, entering the week having lost three straight and five of their last seven. Dominguez Hills dropped a pair of games last week, bowing to Cal State LA 80-77 and 85-78 to Cal State San Marcos.
Dominguez Hills is 4-5 this season on its home floor, The Torodome.
The Toros rank in the middle of the CCAA pack both offensively and defensively, averaging 71.9 points a game while allowing 71.7 points a contest. Dominguez Hills is fifth in the conference in both 3-pointers (143) and rebounding (37.2 boards a game).
Junior guard Cameron Barry has connected for 45 3-pointers (fifth in the CCAA) and averages a team-high 13.9 points per game for the Toros. Sophomore guard/forward DJ Guest adds 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds to the Dominguez Hills attack, while junior guard Jordan Hillstock (11.4 ppg) ranks fourth in the conference with 50 3-pointers. Junior guard/forward Andre Ball comes off the Toros' bench to average 10 points a contest.
Chico State has won 16 of the last 18 meetings with Dominguez Hills dating back to the 2012–13 season. Since 1987, the Wildcats hold a 32-19 series advantage over the Toros.
