After experiencing his toughest outing as a collegiate on New Year's Day, freshman sensation Jojo Murphy rebounded—and more importantly, scored—with authority for the Chico State men's basketball team Thursday night against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Murphy tickled the nylon to the tune of 30 points—the fourth time this season he's scored at least 30 in a game—and the Wildcats withstood a late Toros rally to register a 69-63 victory at Acker Gym.
The win evened Chico State's season record at 6-6 and moved the Wildcats into a tie with Cal State LA for fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 4-3 conference mark. Cal State Dominguez Hills dipped to 6-6 overall and 2-4 in CCAA play.
Murphy hit 11 of his 17 field goal attempts—including five from beyond the 3-point arc—on his way to a game-high 30 points Thursday. Several others contributed to the 'Cats' attack: Joshua Hamilton scored eight points, hauled in eight rebounds, and doled out five assists; Justin Vigil snared nine boards on the night, and Dylan Belquist came off the bench to score a season-high seven points and grab eight rebounds in just 15 minutes of action.
It was actually Dominguez Hills that came out firing in the first half, scoring the game's first five points. The Toros still held a 23-19 lead when the Wildcats tallied 11 of the next 13 points—Murphy bookending the run with 3-pointers—to jump in front 30-25. Dominguez Hills pulled to within one, but two Evan Oliver free throws and a trey by Hamilton pushed the 'Cats' lead to 35-29. Murphy finished off the period with a jumper that sent Chico State into the locker room with a 37-31 halftime advantage.
Two Murphy jump shots and a 3-pointer by Vigil early in the second half, followed by buckets from Murphy and Kelvin Wright Jr. midway through the period, ballooned the Wildcats' lead to 49-38. Chico State was up a dozen with 8:57 to play, but the Toros refused to cave in, hanging around and eventually trimming the deficit down to five at 66-61 with 1:27 remaining. With time running out, Dominguez Hills was forced to foul, and Hamilton, Oliver, and Murphy came through with clutch free throws down the stretch, successfully keeping the Toros at bay and putting the bow on the 'Cats' hard-fought 69-63 victory.
The Wildcats are back in Acker Gym Saturday afternoon, taking on Cal State East Bay (4-9, 2-5 CCAA) in another important conference matchup. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.
