CHICO, Calif. - In a nationally ranked matchup, the Wildcats fall by a mere three points to the No.4 Cal State San Bernardino Yotes in a late game thriller that saw an 18-point lead deficit cut down to only three in the game's final seconds. From the field, the ball would not fall for the home team, shooting 33 percent from the field and 10 percent from three-point range.
Despite the problematic shooting night, the Wildcats came back from fourteen points down starting in the second half to a single-digit loss, scoring over half of their points in the paint.
The Yotes started strong straight from tipoff, maintaining the lead for most of the game, leading by as much as 18 in the second half.
However, the Wildcats did not back down from the growing challenge, slowly chipping away throughout the second half behind veteran performances from Joshua Hamilton and Kelvin Wright Jr. Hamilton scored 20 points for the 'Cats, shooting 50 percent from the field and 10 for 11 from the free-throw line.
Hamilton was a game-changer late into the game, forcing turnovers on the defense and adding three assists to his night.
Wright Jr. added a double-double showing with 18 points and ten rebounds, playing almost the entire game in the paint for Chico. Defensively, Kelvin swatted away three attempts from the Yotes down low and two steals from poor passes.
Coming off the bench and putting up an impressive performance was freshman Isaiah Kerr, who scored 10 points but was equally impactful on the defense, forcing turnovers on the press late in the second half. The Wildcats forced twenty-one turnovers from the Yotes, only turning over the ball thirteen times.
Within the final 30 seconds, the 'Cats brought themselves within a single point because of two Joshua Hamilton free throws, but a closing foul gave the Yotes two opportunities at the line where they would eventually stay to win the CCAA conference opener.
The Wildcats will return to Acker Gym this Saturday for another CCAA Conference matchup against visiting Cal Poly Pomona, tipping off at 3 p.m. They will be broadcast on the CCAA Network.
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